Amid a dip in his form, Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz had a night to forget in midweek, but he has to now show resilience and bounce back.
The 25-year-old Brazilian international has had a brilliant season on the whole, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.
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He established himself as a fundamental figure in Unai Emery’s side with his ability to orchestrate and dictate tempo and possession for us in midfield to control games, and he’s been an important factor in our progression over the 18 months.
Those goal involvements have dried up in recent weeks though, as Luiz has gone without one in his last nine appearances across all competitions, while the loss of Boubacar Kamara to injury in February has proven to be a bigger blow than expected given the impact of his absence on his midfield partner.
That all-important balance we had with that duo has been broken, and although Emery has found alternative success using the likes of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, it feels as though Luiz has struggled to replicate and maintain the high standards that he set earlier in the campaign as his role has also had to slightly change as a result.
Midway through the first half of our 4-2 defeat to Olympiacos in the first leg of our Europa Conference League semi-final tie on Thursday night, Emery could be seen speaking animatedly to Luiz as he was instructing him on what to do and likely where he was going wrong.
The Villa boss has made no secret of how important Luiz is to how he wants us to play given his technical ability and presence in the heart of the side, and he reiterated that point after the game when asked about what he was saying to the Brazilian in that break in play.
“You are our light. Keep the ball, keep the ball! We needed him to have responsibility and take confidence,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference.
Unfortunately, Luiz’s night went from bad to worse as he not only conceded the penalty that made it 3-2 to the visitors, but he missed a late spot-kick of his own which could prove to be decisive in the tie as we look to overturn a two-goal deficit in Greece next week.
The Villa midfielder apologised both on the pitch to the crowd and after the game, but he knows how important it will be to bounce back and respond with actions rather than words now as he looks to guide us to Champions League qualification, and hopefully a spot in the Europa Conference League final still.
“I feel so sad because I think we played really well. We didn’t deserve to lose 4-2 but we have to try and change the result next week,” he said, as per the Express and Star. “I was not very happy with my handball. I saw the picture and it was a clear penalty.
“Then I missed the penalty as well. I am not happy but I need to get my head up and really focus in the Premier League too. We need to train more. I need to train with penalties and change my hand and then try to make things positive.
“Would I take on again? Yes, of course. I am confident. I have scored, I think, six penalties. This is the first I have missed but that is football.
“I know I didn’t need to do it (the apology). At the same time I feel like if I was a fan, I hope a player can make this for the fans. I just think about myself from the side of the fans.”
Luiz has shown the right mentality in response to the adversity he’s facing, and it’s important not to underplay how crucial he has been for us this season when in top form.
Much like with the rest of the squad though, we need a big final push from all of them to get us over the line. Our full focus will be on Brighton on Sunday as we hopefully secure one major objective for the season, and then an ever bigger response will be needed in a fiery atmosphere in Piraeus next Thursday night if we’re to keep our hopes of silverware alive.
Key to that will be the form and level of influence that Luiz can have on our performances, and it’s hoped that he gets the opportunity to put right what went wrong for him this past week and to put his dip in form behind him at the most crucial of points in our campaign.