What Belgium’s media are saying about Aston Villa star Youri Tielemans vs Liechtenstein
Aston Villa fans watched on as Youri Tielemans starred for Belgium on Thursday.
Villa star Tielemans was handed the Belgium captaincy ahead of the Red Devils’ opening clash of the international break against Liechtenstein on 4 September.
This came at the end of a busy summer window for the midfielder, which saw Tielemans linked away from Aston Villa to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.
In the end, the 28-year-old stuck around at Villa Park and played a part for the Villa side that got battered 3-0 by Crystal Palace last time out in the Premier League.
It is safe to say that any struggles that Tielemans faced against the Eagles were removed for his country away to the international minnows.
Youri Tielemans scores wonder goal for Belgium vs Liechtenstein
Everyone that has watched the midfielder for many years knows that he has a screamer in his locker, showcased many times for Leicester City.
Villa fans would have liked to see that at Brentford, as Unai Emery’s side did almost everything but shoot from range at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Although supporters in B6 are yet to see a true ripper from the former Fox, he was able to show that he hasn’t lost it for Belgium.
| Stat vs Liechtenstein | Youri Tielemans |
| Goals | 2 |
| Passes completed | 84 |
| Dribble success rate (%) | 100 |
| Tackles won | 2 |
| Ground duels won | 4 |
This saw Tielemans score a volley from range, described as “superb” by local outlet Foot News on 4 September, which is arguably an understatement.
French newspaper, L’Equipe, has echoed this by saying, “Youri Tielemans, promoted to captain and author of a double, cleared the spirits of his teammates by scoring the second goal at the start of the second period with a beautiful volley from the edge of the box.”
As a result of this strike and a generally excellent performance, another Belgian outlet in RTBF rated the midfielder at a 7.5.
They added: “The low point of the midfield trident, Youri Tielemans, played his role as a ball-carrying belt well.
“The new permanent captain of the Red Devils lit up his match with a perfect volley to break the deadlock at the start of the second half, before scoring 0-5 from the penalty spot to complete a brace.”
Aston Villa must unleash Youri Tielemans better
To have a star name who has the ability to find the top corner from anywhere outside of the box is a huge weapon that could earn points on its own.
Regardless of this, it is clear that Emery isn’t a fan of shots from range and has always demanded that his players don’t let fly willy nilly.
Despite this, it is clear that Tielemans has the technique and ability to find the back of the net from these positions and should be afforded chances to prove that moving forward.
His strike on the international stage is the perfect example of this, so it will certainly be interesting to see if he can replicate that in claret and blue.
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