The Holy Trinity: Aston Villa conclusions from exhibition win v Indonesia All Stars
Villa win their first friendly run-out in the Far East
There’s no point in pretending this pre-season fixture was anything it wasn’t. This was a straight-up exhibition; the kind of game Ross Barkley would still be bossing in his sixties.
Aston Villa rolled into Jakarta at the end of last week and spent their Saturday afternoon in sweltering heat running around on a football pitch with a team known as Indonesia All Stars, which is exactly what it sounds like.
The friendly was noteworthy as the first Villa appearance of winger Alejandro Garnacho and the return, as a striker, of Evann Guessand. We also saw Alysson back in the side in the second half and John McGinn made his first appearance of pre-season.
Speaking of McGinn, don’t miss the latest episode of our free podcast.
For the first time this summer and in keeping with the spirit of the occasion, Villa manager Unai Emery opted for wholesale changes at half time. The final score was 3-1 to the tourists, for anyone counting.
Here’s your Holy Trinity of match conclusions.
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1. We’re seeing some good stuff from Kosta Nedeljković
It’s easy to forget in his absence that Kosta Nedeljković, the right-back who signed for Villa in 2023 and has played five times in the Premier League, is only 20 years old.
I’m not for a second drawing any conclusions about his immediate future based on his summer performances – I think the likeliest outcome is that he spends another season out on loan – but it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the Serbian defender is seeing plenty of action since Andrés García headed off to Getafe.
Nedeljković has been especially useful in the opposition half and it took barely a couple of minutes for him to make his mark in Jakarta with another assist, this time for Emi Buendía and the first of Villa’s three goals.
It was a clever and composed cut-back after some good link play on the right, the highlight of a solid pre-season campaign.
He spent the first half against Indonesia All Stars getting up beyond McGinn regularly, not only with the ball but in search of a long pass from Pau Torres or Barkley.
Tactically, it was a case of Nedeljković acting as a direct deputy for Matty Cash in a system that’s become familiar to us all. He overlapped McGinn and held his position high on the right while Garnacho kept his width as McGinn’s counterpart on the other flank.
Never say never.
2. Alysson! Alysson is back!
19-year-old Alysson signed for Villa on New Year’s Day, made his debut off the bench in mid-February and managed just three appearances before the end of the season. His last game was against Chelsea at Villa Park in March.
Fitness and injuries played their part along with the standard time it can take players to acclimatise to Emery’s system. Ultimately, most of us knew so little about him when he signed that nobody really had the capacity for surprise or disappointment with his first six months in England.
Now 20, Alysson added to his 47 minutes in a Villa shirt with a useful outing in Jakarta on Saturday.
He played on the right in front of Cash and showed a little bit of what he’s about. He did a fair amount of defensive work and looked to get things going in the attacking third too, getting himself into the box relatively easily.
The winger tired quickly in the heat and humidity of Jakarta. After such a disrupted calendar year since moving to the club, I’m not going to judge him on that at all. I’m excited to see what’s next.
3. Villa’s young players are looking comfortable
Emery emptied the bench at the break and the Villa team in the second half was even more inexperienced than the one that played the first. I think there were some plus points.
I’m not about to assess the quality or even the potential of Villa’s youngsters on a match like this but I think they’re looking comfortable in the first team environment. The exception, thus far, is goalkeeper James Wright. He’s a long way down the pecking order for now.
Lots of the outfield players seem confident enough to show what they can do in a low-pressure context. In the second half, TJ Carroll and Brad Burrowes played well in a very young eleven that also featured three of the shining lights of Villa’s pre-season.
Brian Madjo did what Brian Madjo does. It’s probably safest for the rest of the Premier League if he’s not released to play before January because this kid is going to leave defensive bodies in his wake.
Luka Lynch seems to be loving life. He’s raw as all hell and by no means ready for the Premier League but he’s furthering his case this summer and you can bet Emery will want him on loan in the right place in 2026/27.
George Hemmings is getting better and better. He’s cruising through these games against inferior opposition and growing in confidence.
His all-round game has come on in leaps and bounds since a first impressive pre-season a year ago, and he’s undoubtedly going to get another chance to crack the code in the first team set-up this season.
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