The Holy Trinity: Aston Villa conclusions from Premier League comeback win against Chelsea
Villa did it the hard way at Stamford Bridge, but they still did it
Eight Premier League wins in a row is not normal. It’s a run that can’t continue forever but my word, it’s enjoyable.
Aston Villa beat Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday after going a goal behind, yet another comeback victory in what’s become an extraordinary season. It was a tough watch at times, but it’s hard to question Unai Emery and his methods in the midst of a historically good run.
It really wasn’t so long ago that we were talking about the exact opposite kind of form, advocating for patience with the Villa manager on the basis of what he’d done previously. Football moves fast.
Villa faced a lot of possession and a considerable amount of pressure at Stamford Bridge. It was, for an hour, a poor performance that looked destined to be a very costly one.
Emery’s triple substitution changed everything and he now has players calling him a genius in public. These are the good times, my friends. Drink them in.
Free because it’s Christmas, here’s your Holy Trinity of match conclusions:
1. Villa wanted to be compact in the first half but that’s only part of the job
Villa’s pressing in the Chelsea half was very limited in the first period. They pushed on in a counter-pressing context high up the pitch but nothing beyond the half-way line was of much interest once the play was set.
By combining that with a high defensive line to make the pitch small and keep players as close together as possible out of possession, Villa sought to deal with Chelsea players – notably Cole Palmer – who wanted to go looking for pockets in between the line.
That kind of approach is fine for a while and certainly preferable to giving the likes of Palmer an easy ride, but it comes with an in-built possibility of failure and its own effect on Villa’s ability to gain a foothold in the game.
If it doesn’t smother the opposition threat, it’s not beneficial. Even if it does limit the danger from the other team, sooner or later a team with Villa’s ambition has to play a bit too.
Villa didn’t do that at any point before the triple substitution that won the match. They went a goal down and allowed Chelsea to maintain control.
Nobody would want Villa to throw the game plan away and open up as soon as they concede a goal but they hadn't kept Chelsea out and they didn’t look like they were frustrating the hosts at 1-0 either.
Fortunately, these boys are made of the good stuff.
2. Alejandro Garnacho gave Matty Cash a problem at right-back
Matty Cash was placed into direct combat with Alejandro Garnacho by Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea team selection.
Garnacho is many things, not least inconsistent and overrated, but something full-backs won’t get from him is a straightforward afternoon. With the support of Boubacar Kamara and in particular John McGinn, Cash initially refused to be intimidated or even unduly concerned by the Chelsea winger.
But when Cash was booked for a rash foul in the first half – both he and Kamara picked up their fifth yellow cards and will miss the next match against league leaders Arsenal – the dynamic shifted in Garnacho’s favour.
Where his influence had been modest in the beginning, Garnacho started to get on the ball facing the Villa goal. He was more able to run at Cash, whose ability to bully him was diminished.
With Cash on a yellow card and Chelsea a goal to the good, Garnacho’s growing involvement was a major change in the game.
Thanks to his lack of quality and Emery’s match-winning substitutions, it was not allowed to become a telling one.
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3. It’s time someone had a word with Emiliano Martínez
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez might not have burned all of his bridges at the end of the summer transfer window but he certainly decimated his acceptable margin of error in the eyes of many supporters.
He’s showed every side of himself this season – outstanding saves, confident catches, good distribution and bad, incredible performances, unexpected absence and clangers.
Often, most of that will appear in the same match. That was my assessment of his display against Chelsea, which was generally very competent and definitely important to the win but was sullied by the goal he conceded.
Not for the first or even second time this season, Martínez was preoccupied with interfering with opponents as Chelsea prepared to take a corner.
Having shoved and dragged Enzo Fernández and João Pedro, he was in no position to make any kind of attempt to deal with the ball when Reece James fired it at the spot where he should have been physically and mentally ready to intervene.
Once again, the goalkeeper distracted himself and Villa paid the price in the form of a set piece goal conceded. It was a shambles.
Martínez himself shoulders the blame for these goals but a conversation with the coaching team is overdue. Set piece Austin MacPhee, who was also booked at Stamford Bridge, would do well to remind the goalkeeper why he’s there.
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