After losing Youri Tielemans to an injury setback this week, it was a bitter blow for Aston Villa given how influential the Belgian midfielder has been for us all season.
The man of steel in the heart of the side has been a starter in all 52 of his appearances thus far, and particularly given the quality that he adds in both phases, it’s hard, if not impossible, for others to replicate the job he does in that role for us.
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Further, in such a critical period in our season, being without arguably our most influential player was the last thing we needed with three must-win games ahead of us to keep our hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
Nevertheless, with his absence at Bournemouth confirmed by Unai Emery during the week, the Villa boss insisted that it was ‘the moment’ for others to step up, and it was Amadou Onana who was ultimately tasked with stepping in to fill that void at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening.
Admittedly, it was a slow start from the Belgian international, but he quickly settled into the contest, and from that point onwards he was a fundamental reason in our ability to secure all three points in a difficult assignment on the road against a dangerous side.
The 23-year-old imposed himself on the game in his own way, giving us physical presence and control in midfield to get a foothold and gradually pose a threat of our own as we improved through the course of the first half, before eventually finding a decisive breakthrough just before the break.
Onana increasingly became a driving force in midfield as he won duels, covered significant ground to shield the backline but also had the energy, physicality and athleticism to carry the ball forward into the Bournemouth half and get us on the front-foot.
There was a more solid feel to this Villa line-up and that was reflected in our ability to keep a clean sheet, which ultimately proved to be the foundation we needed to battle to a closely-fought win and keep ourselves in the hunt for a top-five finish.
Emery will require different characteristics and qualities in his personnel on the pitch depending on the context of the game and opposition, but it was Onana who he needed to step up this weekend, and our summer signing didn’t disappoint as he did exactly that in an excellent performance to help will us to a crucial three points.
It remains to be seen if Tielemans can recover in time to feature again in our final two games, but if not, it’s hoped that his compatriot can thrive in his absence to end what has been a difficult, injury-riddled debut season with us on a strong note, setting himself up for a big pre-season and a more impactful second year in a Villa shirt as he continues to improve, develop and mature with experience.