Aston Villa succumbed to another defeat to Manchester United. This time the final score was 2-1 in favour of the Old Trafford outfit.
The previous clash between the two clubs had come on Boxing Day and when Villa took a two-goal lead, it looked as though they were on course for victory.
Erik ten Hag’s men recovered to prevail 3-2 and the win over the weekend means the Red Devils have done the Premier League double over the Midlands side.
#1 Liverpool
24
32
54
#2 Man City
23
21
52
#3 Arsenal
24
31
54
#4 Tottenham
24
15
47
#5 Aston Villa
24
14
46
Unai Emery’s side were not at their fluent best, but they arguably could have salvaged a draw had Matty Cash not been caught out of position and beaten to the ball by Scott McTominay for the winner with just five minutes of normal time left.
Not only was he at fault for the goal, but the defender had a poor all-round match against United and this could perhaps change Emery’s thinking for the games ahead.
Matty Cash’s performance in numbers v Man Utd
Football FanCast took a deeper look into his performance against the Old Trafford side but to summarise, he was poor against the likes of Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund during the clash.
4/10 Aston Villa star let Unai Emery down against Man Utd
Aston Villa suffered a late defeat to Manchester United on the weekend
ByRoss KilvingtonFeb 12, 2024
The right-back was even given a match rating of just 4/10 for his display by Birmingham World, while he was deemed to have endured a ‘sloppy first half’ and that ‘Rashford ran rings around him’ throughout the match.
Indeed, Cash lost possession a grand total of 17 times, while winning just three of his 12 contested duels, and he even received a yellow card for good measure, ensuring it was a tough day for the English-born-Poland international.
While Emery hardly has a plethora of options to replace Cash on the right side of the defence, another performance like that could cost Villa even more points in the future.
It wasn’t just the 26-year-old who let his manager down over the weekend, as several others failed to truly showcase their true talents.
Ollie Watkins had a rare off day, missing two big chances during the tie along with winning just two out of his 14 contested duels and succeeding with only one of his six dribble attempts.
Perhaps the most wasteful player in the Villa starting XI was Jacob Ramsey, and he must be replaced for the clash against Fulham at the weekend.
Jacob Ramsey's performance in numbers v Man Utd
The £70k-per-week midfielder started on the left wing and his role was to not only provide plenty of opportunities for Watkins but to also create a few openings for himself during the match.
Not only did the Englishman fail to create a big chance or make any key passes, but he also attempted zero dribble attempts, lost possession 11 times and completed 86% of his passes.
Ramsey clearly fancied his chances of getting on the scoresheet, taking a total of five shots against United, yet only one of them was on target and that about summed up his afternoon in what was another poor performance.
The most glaring opportunity came in the second half. Leon Bailey charged forward and then slid the ball through to the young Englishman who failed the gather the ball under his spell. Had Ramsey done so, it was an easy finish in front of Andre Onana. That was just one of 11 times he gave the ball away, once every 5 minutes of the clash.
In 18 appearances in all competitions during 2023/24, Ramsey has scored just once and provided one assist. Not the numbers that Emery would have wanted and, while some benefit must go down to the fact he has missed eight games with a foot injury, more is expected considering he is fit.
Accurate passes
30/35
Total shots
5
Total duels won
2/6
Big chances created
0
Key passes
0
The Fulham clash is now looking even more important, but Ramsey could well be replaced. The question is, who comes into the starting XI for the 22-year-old on the weekend?
The players who could replace Jacob Ramsey
Perhaps the most obvious choice wouldn’t be to bring a new player into the left-wing role, but to shift John McGinn out wide and deploy either Youri Tielemans or Moussa Diaby as the number ten against the Cottagers.
McGinn has played on the left a total of 14 times during the current season, scoring five goals and adding an assist, and this looks like the most logical option for Emery.
Failing that, bringing Nicolo Zaniolo back into the starting XI could be another option for the Spaniard as he seeks three points against Fulham.
The Italian was brought on against United with just ten minutes to go and wasn’t exactly given enough time to shine, yet he still completed 100% of his passes and the run out could stand him in good stead ahead of a potential start.
The 24-year-old has not featured as much as he’d have liked since joining on a season-long loan deal from Galatasaray last summer, starting just 11 of his 27 matches thus far.
Zaniolo does rank in the top ten among the Villa squad for shots per game (1.2) which shows he is always keen on having an attempt at goal, while over the previous 365 days in Europe’s top five leagues, the 24-year is currently ranked in the top 1% for progressive carries and touches in the opposition box per 90, while ranking in the top 11% for shot-creating actions and successful take-ons per 90 when compared to positional peers.
These statistics clearly prove that the attacking midfielder certainly deserves to be unleashed from the start against the London side this Saturday as Villa chase three crucial points.
With Europa Conference League football fast approaching too, Emery will need to be careful with his side, as squad rotation will be imperative to success.
The depth of the Villa first-team squad is not the greatest across a number of positions at the moment and this is something the 52-year-old will be looking to fix during the summer transfer window.
Until then, however, he can only use who is at his disposal. Following Ramsey’s poor display against United last weekend, changes must be made and this could see Zaniolo come back into the starting XI.
He may not make a huge impact, but surely changing things up will give Villa a greater chance of securing another win in the Premier League, otherwise, they will just be playing with a player who is currently out of form.