Douglas Luiz stars as Emi Buendia has a miserable night – Aston Villa player ratings vs Brighton
Aston Villa secured a 1-0 win against Brighton on Wednesday.
The sides met at Villa Park on 11 February, with Unai Emery’s side hoping to gain momentum after two consecutive negative results.
The Villans lost to Bournemouth and then drew with Brentford, which had the potential to dent their Champions League push.
It looked like another poor night for the hosts, but Tyrone Mings’ deflected effort provided an 86th-minute winner to send the home crowd into raptures.
Douglas Luiz shines in Villa win
Douglas Luiz returned to Villa in the winter transfer window on loan, and it looks to be a brilliant acquisition.
The Brazilian put in an inspired display in front of the home supporters, that was reminiscent of his first spell with the Villans.
The 27-year-old created two chances and made 10 passes into the final third, per Sofascore, as he tried to push his team forward in search of a goal.
Defensively, he made one interception and eight recoveries, showing his importance to Emery’s men in the middle of the park.
He won seven of the nine ground duels that he attempted, for a 78 per cent success rate, as he stopped the visitors from being able to punish the Villans.
Luiz looks like he will be a key asset as the B6 outfit chase a place in Europe’s premier competition.
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Buendia struggles as Villa win
Emi Buendia is supposed to be the creative heartbeat of the Villans side, but he had a miserable night this time around.
The Argentine created just one chance for his teammates, and completed just 78 per cent of his nine pass attempts, per Sofascore.
He made just two passes into the final third, and took just one shot, which was blocked as he failed to make the required impact.
Buendia’s resurgence was one of the stories of the campaign, but he has been off the boil in the last few weeks.
Emery may not longer be able to rely on him, and may need to replace him for the next game, as he was poor against the Seagulls.
How Villa players rated vs Brighton
Emi Martinez – 6
Lamare Bogarde – 6
Ezri Konsa – 6
Tyrone Mings – 7
Ian Maatsen – 6
Amadou Onana – 5 (off for Alysson, 74)
Douglas Luiz – 8
Jadon Sancho – 5 (off for Bailey, 60)
Emi Buendia – 4 (off for Barkley, 60)
Morgan Rogers – 5
Ollie Watkins – 5 (off for Abraham, 74)
Substitutes:
Leon Bailey – 6
Ross Barkley – 5
Tammy Abraham – 5
Alysson – 5
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