Credit: Imago

Dakir Thanveer

Tue 4 March 2025 18:58, UK

Unai Emery made a blunder starting Morgan Rogers ahead of Marco Asension in the UEFA Champions League clash between Club Brugge and Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Aston Villa started the game in Belgium on the front foot, taking the lead through Leon Bailey just three minutes after kick-off on 4 March.

However, Club Brugge pulled level less than 10 minutes later after Bailey failed to track his runner and allowed Maxim De Cuyper to slot the ball past Emiliano Martinez.

This saw the hosts grow in confidence as the game went on, with Emery’s men playing on the back foot at times as the scoreline read 1-1 at half-time.

Rogers awful in first half v Club Brugge

Rogers has been a key player for Aston Villa this season, bagging 12 goals and six assists in 38 appearances across all competitions so far.

However, there is no denying that the attacker has been one of the worst performers in the Villa line-up against Club Brugge.

As usual, Rogers has been covering a lot of ground, but the fact is he has been far from his best, almost looking like a headless chicken with his running.

Although he won three of his four duels in the first half [FotMob], that was all he had to show for his performance during that period.

Emery must bring Asensio on for Aston Villa

To be fair to Emery, he was forced to drop Asensio out of his starting line-up after the Spain international picked up a knock.

However, if the attacker is fit enough to be named on the bench, there is no reason why he cannot come on for Villa in the second half to try and make a difference.

The Paris Saint-Germain loanee has been in fine form for the Birmingham-based club, having scored four goals in his last two starts for them across all competitions.

Asensio scored a brace in Villa’s 2-0 win against Cardiff in the FA Cup on Friday, 28 February.