Much is often made of Aston Villa’s principles under Unai Emery when they don’t work by the media outside of the club, but the statistics suggest we’re continuing to improve in a key area.
Similar to when our approach to playing out from the back doesn’t work and we’re caught out or merely put under pressure, the immediate response by many is that we’re playing a dangerous game and perhaps aren’t equipped to do it.
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When it does work and we consistently break teams down by being patient and measured starting in defence, particularly at Villa Park where we’ve scored 20 goals so far this season in just five games, the calls to go long and more direct aren’t as loud.
It’s a fundamental principle of the style of football and identity that Emery is implementing at Villa, as he wants more composure and control in games to dominate possession and dictate tempo.
Another integral part to the execution of that gameplan is to adopt a high defensive line. Not only does it squeeze play higher up the pitch where our incisive and quicker passing can unlock teams more directly, but it catches the opposition out when trying to be quick in transition and hurt us on the counter.
Admittedly, there have been times where it hasn’t worked and we’ve seen the strategy break down and lead to goals conceded.
The loss of Tyrone Mings to injury in our Premier League season opener was a big blow given how important he was to the application of that high line with his organisation and leadership in the backline. That in turn saw us catch our opposition offside on 14 occasions in our first five league games and we looked a little more vulnerable in general.
However, in our last five league outings, we’ve registered 28 offsides against the opposing side, and that is a clear indication that our backline is finding that discipline and consistency without Mings to make it an effective strategy.
It’s a fundamental principle of Emery’s style and set-up that isn’t going anywhere, and based on our recent results, it seems like it’s a highly effective plan the majority of the time that contributes to our ability to win.
That comes with Ezri Konsa stepping up and becoming a leader at the back, with Pau Torres settling and building important partnerships with the rest of the defensive line and the structure as a team put in place by the Villa boss that still stands strong regardless of personnel changes.
Both Matty Cash and Lucas Digne deserve as much credit as the centre-halves for that, as does Diego Carlos when he’s come in, and that’s not forgetting Emiliano Martinez’s role as he essentially quarterbacks the operation from his vantage point in goal and maintains the organisation and discipline needed to make it work.
It’s another element of this Villa team under Emery that is so crucial to our ongoing development and improvement under his management, and is pivotal to our success moving forward. We’re showing clear signs of being better in that area in recent weeks, and it’s hoped it can continue to be a consistently effective part our gameplan moving forward.
In our last five PL games, we've caught our opposition out offside 28 times.
Similar to when we play out from the back, our high line seems to get highlighted more so when it doesn't work. Key principle in the Emery plan that's going nowhere & highly effective majority of time.… pic.twitter.com/n08uMo2IDS
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) October 30, 2023