Aston Villa were lucky to secure a point against Chelsea on Saturday night at Villa Park, with Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino spotted finding and hugging one of Unai Emery’s players.
It was a frustrating night for Aston Villa on Saturday, as Unai Emery watched his side discard a two-goal lead against Chelsea to see the match end 2-2.
By the time the full-time whistle blew, the hosts were the more relieved party to walk away with a point as it looked like the visitors had won it at the death before VAR ruled out Axel Disasi’s goal.
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When comparing the game with the standard of quality that Villa have shown throughout this season, it was a poor second-half showing from Emery’s side, who looked tired and sluggish when attempting to match pace with Chelsea.
While there was a lot of drama on the pitch, there were some interesting moments that happened away from play, with Mauricio Pochettino spotted hugging one Villa star before kick-off.
Mauricio Pochettino was seen hugging Jhon Duran before Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea
Before the game started, journalist Jacob Tanswell relayed that Pochettino was seen hunting for Jhon Duran, before finding the Colombian on the Villa bench to hug him.
It was an interesting moment considering the Chelsea boss looked to seek the 20-year-old before the fixture, with his movements having some clarity when remembering the forward was linked to the Blues in January.
During the winter transfer window, Duran was suspect to a host of speculation over his future, with his gametime limited at Villa Park due to the unshiftable presence of Ollie Watkins.
Judging by his embrace before last night’s draw, it would be assumed that links between Chelsea and the Villa youngster were perhaps true.
Jhon Duran was handed a brief chance to impress against Chelsea
It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Emery opted to bring Duran into the game, where he was only able to secure four touches on the ball as the Blues continued to apply the pressure.
The Colombian’s brief cameo against Chelsea summed up his season to a degree, with him averaging just 19 minutes per game in the Premier League this campaign, with his position vital for Villa yet frustrating for the player.
In Duran, Emery has an assured number two to Watkins should the Englishman be unavailable, giving the Villans much-needed depth but the 20-year-old a near-impossible task to chase to find away in the favoured XI.
It was interesting to see Pochettino take the time to interact with the young forward, who has made no mistake in the past to stir up speculation over his future on social media.
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