Ian Maatsen leaves Lucas Digne in the dust at Aston Villa after what happened vs Nottingham Forest
Ian Maatsen may have cemented his place in the Aston Villa starting XI after his showing against Nottingham Forest.
Villa secured a 3-1 win over Forest to return to winning ways in style at Villa Park.
The Netherlands international returned from the start in B6 after he was dropped in mid-week as Villa lost 4-1 against Arsenal at the Emirates.
John McGinn took the headlines against Forest with his brace, but was far from alone in showcasing his qualities on Saturday afternoon.
Maatsen was one of the star performers in claret and blue, something which could spell bad news for Lucas Digne in the Midlands.
Ian Maatsen was excellent vs Nottingham Forest
The 23-year-old has had far from an ideal time at Villa Park since making a sizable move from Chelsea in the summer of 2024.
Maatsen has struggled at times for Villa and had failed to make a starting XI place his own until very recently under Unai Emery.
The left-back has been afforded more regular minutes in recent weeks and has continued to make the most of that opportunity.
Emery left the Dutchman on for 69 minutes against Forest, and in that time, he was able to rack up a 94 per cent pass accuracy while also contributing to six defensive actions.
This area of his game has certainly improved with one tackle, three clearances, two interceptions and six recoveries representing a top showcase in B6.
That didn’t take away from his attacking qualities as the ex-Chelsea man still clocked up one dribble, two shots and four passes into the final third.
It was the sort of performance that has surely cemented his place in the side ahead of Digne after his recent struggles.
Lucas Digne surpassed by Maatsen at Aston Villa
Digne came on with 20 minutes to impress Emery against the Reds, but it is fair to say he did little to do so.
The scoreline dealt the Frenchman a difficult hand, but that shouldn’t take away from him completing just five passes and one defensive action.
He also lost all of his attempted ground duels and didn’t really prove why he should be starting ahead of Maatsen in the pecking order.
It could prove to be a new dawn down the left flank for the Villans, with Digne looking set to take a backseat across the second half of the season.