Austin MacPhee heard bellowing at Evann Guessand live in Aston Villa win at Basel
Evann Guessand may have scored a valuable goal in the win at Basel but he was still the target of the Aston Villa bench in Switzerland.
The Ivorian netted in the 12th minute in the Europa League, snatching on a loose ball and firing on the turn as he fell and slipping it inside the near post.
Aston Villa ran out 2-1 winners as Youri Tielemans scored the winner off the bench after Flavius Daniliuc had levelled in the first half.
Ultimately Aston Villa, and Guessand, will be pleased with their evening’s work as they sit third in the group and well-positioned to qualify without the need for a play-off but Austin MacPhee was spotted roaring at the forward during one first-half sequence that won’t have pleased the set piece coach.
Aston Villa set piece coach shouts at Guessand over free kick
As Aston Villa lined up to swing a free kick into the area in the 44th minute MacPhee was heard bellowing from the corner of the technical area while Unai Emery watched on from the opposite corner.
The Scot’s attempted intervention was so loud that the TNT Sports match broadcast then turned to focus on him in the build up to the set piece.
MacPhee could be heard shouting: “Evann! Evann! Evaaaann! Evaaaaaaann! Here! Get in! Get in!”
In response an amused Mike Minay on the commentary said: “The man you can hear repeatedly shouting Evann Guessand’s name is the Aston Villa set piece coach. He’s the one who’s been so inventive for Aston Villa this season. I think Evann might be the target.”
As it was Emi Buendia swung the ball to the far post where Amadou Onana got a head to it and attempted to direct it back across goal for oncoming teammates. Guessand, however, was nowhere near as he seemingly hadn’t heeded the loud instructions from the sideline, to the likely displeasure of MacPhee, and the keeper gathered under no pressure.
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Despite the lack of impact on the free kick late in the first half Guessand ultimately had a good night with the goal, and will likely need to keep doing so after Aston Villa lined up another new attacker for January in Alysson from Gremio.
According to stats from Sofascore the summer signing was the second-strongest performer in the Villa line-up and scored his goal from an xG of just 0.14.
| Touches | 42 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Shots on target | 1 |
| Passes completed | 17/22 |
| Possession lost | 13 |
| Fouls | 4 |
His pass completion percentage could have been better at 77-percent but his one long-ball was accurate for 100-percent.
And while his manager would likely prefer him to be more impactful in the all-round game he put in a shift defensively, recovering possession twice and winning six ground duels while winning three tackles and making one interception.
The Europa League has been a testing ground for Emery to use some of his squad players and Guessand made a difference here, but the wide man has been heading in the wrong direction in the Premier League – 90 minutes across the previous five matches combined – so arguably needs to make himself undroppable in the opportunities to start that he does get.
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