Ian Maatsen at heart of Aston Villa’s defensive collapse vs Chelsea, the stats prove why
Chelsea’s internal figures were probably laughing while watching Ian Maatsen’s performance during Aston Villa’s 4-1 loss on Wednesday.
The Villans lost a crucial Premier League match to their Champions League rivals at Villa Park, as Unai Emery saw his defence fall apart.
It all started well for Villa after Douglas Luiz’s early goal, but Chelsea’s transitions were too much to handle, and especially for Maatsen.
The Dutchman was brought to B6 from the Blues in a fee worth £37.5million, a figure which has arguably yet to be justified at Villa Park.
It wasn’t just Maatsen that put in a poor defensive display, but the left-back may have had one of his worst games to date in an Aston Villa shirt.
Ian Maatsen was joint worst-rated Aston Villa player vs Chelsea
The loss to Chelsea sees Villa stay in fourth place, but the former is now just three points behind in fifth.
Liam Rosenior was bold with his approach to attack the Villans aggressively on the break, but for some reason, Emery’s side were not able to cope with it, time and time again.
- Chelsea had 15 shots
- They had eight on target
- The Blues created an xG of 3.60
Maatsen is given more freedom to bomb forward, but still had his duties to fill in when Chelsea won the ball back.
The left-back’s positioning was all over the place, as he consistently left space open for Chelsea to attack down the right flank.
As highlighted by Sofascore in the graphic below, Maatsen picked up a 5.8 rating, which was the joint-lowest out of every player, along with Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers.
The 23-year-old had a zero per cent crossing accuracy and lost four of his ground duels in total. So, while being unhelpful going forward, he was somehow even worse at the back.
He was also dispossessed on two occasions and dribbled past once, which may leave Emery with a big call to make.
- Read more: Tyrone Mings chasing shadows, Ezri Konsa even worse – Aston Villa player ratings vs Chelsea
Will Lucas Digne come straight back into the side for Unai Emery?
Villa play Lille next in the Europa League final stages, and Emery will have to decide whether to persist with Maatsen or play Lucas Digne.
There has been rotation at the left-back spot all season, and there is an acceptance at Villa Park that Maatsen, in particular, may take time to grow alongside the Villans.
But patience may be running thin with Emery, as the Dutchman has rarely stepped up in big games. It’s becoming increasingly evident that Maatsen is at his best when playing against lesser sides who sit back and deploy a low block.
Digne is coming toward the back end of his career, but as of right now, he offers more consistency and reliability than Maatsen and deserves to come back into the side for both Premier League and Europa League games.
To read more statistical Aston Villa stories, visit Football Insider for extra expert analysis.