‘Maatsen repays Emery faith’ in Aston Villa showing v Nottingham Forest
Ian Maatsen proved why he deserved to start for Aston Villa in the win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Villans secured a hard-fought 2-1 win against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at Villa Park, thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen.
A second-half strike from Jota Silva wasn’t enough to turn things around for the Reds, who were undone by an electric 15 minutes for the home side.
Maatsen played a key role in this phase of play while having a generally positive game under Unai Emery in a huge B6 clash.
Maatsen proves himself v Nottingham Forest
It is fair to say that the Netherlands international has had far from a dream first season in the West Midlands since signing from Chelsea.
There was a huge amount of excitement when the 23-year-old joined just weeks after starting for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.
The left-back has struggled to steal Lucas Digne’s spot as a regular starter, failing to truly prove his worth under Emery.
That looks to have changed against Forest as the Dutchman had a telling impact, with his assist for Malen, on three points staying at Villa Park.
This was his only created chance of the game, but he did hand his countryman a 0.72 expected goal opportunity, which can’t be underestimated.
Maatsen continued to look good going forward as he had one shot on target while also maintaining a 100 per cent dribble success in B6 [FotMob].
This didn’t stop him from having a positive outing at the back as the former Burnley loanee chipped in with six defensive actions, including one tackle and two clearances.
Add to this six duel wins, and Emery gets an all-action performance from a man who had made just four Premier League starts before the win against Forest.
Emery has Maatsen dilemma at Aston Villa
The Villans made eight changes against Forest and still had a superb starting 11 that was more than capable of fighting against the side in third.
Maatsen was one of the best introductions to the side and will have every right to feel hard done by if he is dropped in midweek.
| Stat | Ian Maatsen v Nottingham Forest |
| Assists | 1 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Dribble completion (%) | 100 |
| Defensive actions | 6 |
The Villans are preparing for a Champions League clash against PSG on Wednesday (9 April), which will be a completely different kettle of fish compared to Forest.
It will be interesting to see if Emery opts to start with Digne or Maatsen, but either way, Villa fans can be confident of their side after seven back-to-back wins.