Aston Villa were relieved to earn a point against Chelsea on Saturday night after some late drama, in a game that saw two usually reliable Villa stars criticised for their performances.
Unai Emery watched his side lose a 2-0 lead at Villa Park on Saturday evening, as Aston Villa drew 2-2 with Chelsea in the Premier League.
It was a game that on paper, the Villans should have cruised in as Mauricio Pochettino’s ninth-place side have struggled to play consistently well all season.
That being said, on Saturday, the Blues made it incredibly difficult for Villa, who didn’t help themselves by fumbling a two-goal lead in the second half.
Things almost went from the bad to the unthinkable in injury time, as Axel Disasi peeled away in a state of euphorium as he thought he’d won the visitors the game, only for his goal to be disallowed by VAR.
Villa were saved by the game-defining decision of VAR and Craig Pawson however, the draw did not spare several players from criticism for their performance on the night.
John McGinn and Douglas Luiz were ‘miles away’ in Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea
The game was going swimmingly for the hosts until Youri Tielemans was hauled off in the 27th minute due to injury, a substitution that unsettled the midfield as John McGinn took the Belgian’s place alongside Douglas Luiz in the engine room.
From then on, Chelsea’s midfielders crept into the game, seeing Villa subsequently lose control in what was an unusually frail showing from the club captain and the Brazilian maestro.
READ MORE: What Aston Villa fans thought of Douglas Luiz during Chelsea draw
As a result, the pair received some criticism from journalist Dan Bardell, who discussed the disjointed midfield pivot on the 1874 podcast.
“I didn’t think Luiz and McGinn were in the game at any point really, I don’t remember seeing either of them on the ball, maybe McGinn a bit towards the end.
“They just didn’t construct any kind of passing fluidity together. The distances were strange in the game, I thought the midfield felt miles away.”
Unai Emery must see an improvement in his midfield
The worry now is just how bad Tielemans’ injury is as he went off in the first half clutching his groin, with Emery not wanting to be without the in-form Belgian for an extensive period.
When the 26-year-old left the game, so did Villa’s structure in midfield, as highlighted by the below-par numbers that McGinn and Luiz recorded during the fixture, seen below.
If there were two players that you wouldn’t expect to see underperforming for Villa it would be McGinn and Luiz, who were the subject of a bad day at the office against Chelsea.
It will be hoped that the duo will bounce back to their usual levels against Olympiacos on Thursday, as Villa brace themselves for the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final at Villa Park.
The post ‘They just didn’t’... Journalist calls out Aston Villa duo for ‘strange’ performance against Chelsea appeared first on Aston Villa News.
