Aston Villa suffered a major blow on the opening weekend of the season having lost Tyrone Mings to a serious injury, and that left a significant void to fill in the heart of our defence.
Mings has been a fundamental figure for some time in the Villa XI, with his physical presence, leadership, experience and defensive qualities all forming a key part our backline.
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To see him go down with such a serious setback would have been difficult for all concerned to process, and particularly after that 5-1 defeat to Newcastle Utd, we’ve had to regroup and move forward quickly.
The response has been excellent. Three consecutive wins with 12 goals scored and just one conceded was the perfect way to bounce back, and the introduction of Diego Carlos into our defence in the last two games has been vital.
Given the 30-year-old Brazilian centre-half was coming back from a lengthy setback of his own, there were still question marks hanging over him, namely, would he be able to return to the level he produced pre-injury?
It’s been a long road back for him but patience was key, as Villa didn’t rush his recovery in the back-end of last season, and he’s finally now answering those questions and quickly establishing himself as an integral part of the side.
Having registered back-to-back starts and completed 90 minutes in two games over five days, the Brazilian ace is looking physically imposing while showing good recovery speed and tactical awareness, and he’s getting sharper the more he plays.
Further, he’s settled into what looks to be a well-balanced and solid defensive line as he builds a partnership with Pau Torres, while Ezri Konsa continues to impress and showcase his class despite shifting across to right-back.
With Lucas Digne’s influence building on the left side, it has been a huge boost for Villa to see that defensive unit respond so well to the absence of Mings, and there’s no doubt it didn’t just happen by luck as Emery’s influence and meticulous preparation and hard-work will have had a lot to do with it as well.
Depth might still be a problem as we’ll arguably have to ask a lot of that quartet – along with Matty Cash – over the course of the season, while we hope to get Alex Moreno back soon and Calum Chambers is a trusted option to come in when Emery decides to rotate.
Nevertheless, given what Mings gave us in defence and the record without him prior to this season, there was serious concern over how we would react and bounce back from that blow. Fortunately, Carlos has stepped in and stepped up to remind us of his class and quality in a timely boost, and the defensive group as a unit have responded brilliantly thus far too.