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Aston Villa have three genuine wingers now, so why didn't we start them?
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- Aston Villa have three genuine wingers now, so why didn't we start them?
(IMAGO / AFLOSPORT)
Aston Villa have three genuine wingers now, so why didn't we use them?
One of the things that surprised me most about Aston Villa's team selection against Barcelona was the decision not to start a natural winger, because looking at the way Hansi Flick sets his team up, I thought this was a game where having genuine pace and directness in wide areas could have caused the opposition some real problems.
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Barcelona play with an incredibly high defensive line, and although they're obviously very good at what they do, there are opportunities to exploit the space behind their defenders if you can move the ball forward quickly enough and have players capable of making those runs. We saw glimpses of that throughout the game, particularly in the first half, but I couldn't help thinking Villa might have had more success with one of Alysson, Alejandro Garnacho or Ibrahim Mbaye in the starting eleven.
I understood what Emery was trying to achieve by selecting John McGinn, Emi Buendía and Johan Manzambi behind Nicolas Jackson. There was clearly an intention to compete in central areas, retain possession when possible and have players who would work diligently without the ball, particularly when it came to supporting the full-backs against Barcelona's attacking players.
McGinn and Buendía are both excellent at that side of the game, and I wouldn't question their commitment to the defensive responsibilities Emery gives them. Manzambi also had an interesting role, operating very close to Jackson when Villa were out of possession as the pair attempted to press Barcelona's build-up.
My issue was that Barcelona are exceptionally comfortable playing through central areas, and attempting to congest the midfield against a team with that level of technical ability was always going to be a difficult assignment. Their defenders and midfielders are so comfortable receiving the ball under pressure that I wondered whether Villa would have been better served by having another player capable of stretching the pitch and giving us an immediate outlet when possession was regained.
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I thought Alysson would have been particularly well suited to the game because of his direct running and the defensive diligence he's shown in recent performances. He wouldn't necessarily have compromised Villa's ability to help the full-back, but he would have offered something very different when we managed to break Barcelona's press.
The same argument could be made for Garnacho, who I would like to see getting more opportunities after some encouraging recent cameos, although playing him from the start does require Emery to consider the balance of the rest of his attacking players. Mbaye is another option, and while I still think he's quite raw and perhaps better suited to making an impact from the bench at this stage, his willingness to run in behind was evident when he came on.
There was one particularly good run from Mbaye following a pass from Maatsen, and those were exactly the types of situations I thought Villa could have looked to create more regularly. Barcelona's defensive line was offering space, and we have players in the squad who are capable of exploiting it.
I do think there's a reasonable counterargument to my criticism, because Villa actually created a number of opportunities in the first half with the team Emery selected. Matty Cash went close following a well-worked corner, João Gomes had an effort blocked and both Manzambi and Jackson found themselves in promising positions. Had we taken one of those chances, perhaps we'd be looking at the tactical approach a little differently.
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It's also possible that Emery intended to introduce more pace as the game developed, particularly if Villa could remain competitive and Barcelona began leaving even more space as they pushed forward. Unfortunately, the early mistake meant we were chasing the game almost immediately, and the second goal shortly after half-time made the situation considerably more difficult.
Even allowing for that, I would have liked to see Alysson introduced earlier, because the longer the game went on, the more I felt Villa needed somebody who could carry the ball forward and offer a different type of threat.
Last season there were occasions when Emery had very little choice but to use central players in wider positions because we simply didn't have enough genuine wingers available. That's no longer the case, and having three players who can offer that directness should give Villa more flexibility in matches where the opposition's defensive approach leaves opportunities in wide areas.
I'm not suggesting that playing a winger would automatically have changed the result against Barcelona, because they're an outstanding side and Villa made mistakes that would have been difficult to recover from regardless of the personnel involved.
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I just thought this was a particularly good opportunity to make use of the attacking options we've added to the squad, and given how high Barcelona were prepared to defend, I was surprised we didn't try to exploit that space with a little more pace from the outset.
