Unai Emery berates Aston Villa dud after ‘bizarre’ moment with change already set vs Brighton
Aston Villa didn’t cover themselves in glory in their draw away to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Villa could only secure a 1-1 result against Bournemouth despite going ahead in the first half at the Vitality Stadium.
Unai Emery’s side took the lead when Morgan Rogers scored again for Villa, being put through on goal by Jadon Sancho.
There was little positivity to take from the second half when Rayan scored for Bournemouth against Villa on his first Cherries start.
Things were made very easy for Rayan, with Lucas Digne coming under huge amounts of scrutiny for his shocking defending.
Unai Emery to lay into Lucas Digne at Aston Villa
Digne was slammed on Match of the Day on Saturday evening, as the France international was picked out for individual criticism.
Danny Murphy described it as “really bad defending”, but the Villa Park faithful had much worse things to say on social media, that’s for sure.
Supporters were genuinely baffled to see the left-back hand Rayan an invitation to come into the box and get a shot away.
Former Villa scout Bryan King couldn’t believe what he saw from Digne and suggested talks with Emery could result in him being axed for the upcoming Brighton clash.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, King said: “Hopefully, it won’t happen again. I’d imagine he’ll get a telling off from Emery.
“You know, I never really fancied him as a defender while he was at Everton, and I still don’t really.
“It was bizarre, and there have been a few bizarre things going on at Villa in the past few weeks, especially with conceding goals.
“Places like Bournemouth are the places you need to go and win if you want to win the league.
“They were 1-0 up, and what a great result that would have been, and in the end, they’re glad to get a point.
“I can’t see why Ian Maatsen won’t come straight back in against Brighton.“
Ian Maatsen set for start vs Brighton
There has been competition between Maatsen and Digne throughout the campaign, but the Bournemouth draw may be the last straw for the Frenchman.
His defending was genuinely horrendous for the goal, and it would be totally fair if he took a seat on the bench next time around.
Villa will face Brighton next, and Maatsen looks set to come in for his 20th Premier League start of the season.
He certainly has a point to prove against the Seagulls, but with such a shocking performance from Digne behind him, he could make the left-back spot his own.