Aston Villa suffered a European hangover on Sunday as they were defeated 1-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
Despite the loss, Villa are still in control of their destiny when it comes to securing a Champions League spot for next season, seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, albeit the London side have a game in hand.
Unai Emery will have to motivate the players ahead of their Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos on Thursday evening, although several who started over the weekend could find themselves on the bench, most notably Moussa Diaby.
Moussa Diaby’s game in numbers vs Brighton
The Frenchman registered a goal and an assist during the first leg last week, but this display was sandwiched in between two poor performances in the Premier League.
Against Chelsea, he came on for the injured Youri Tielemans, before being subbed off with ten minutes left, failing to have a positive impact at all.
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Moussa Diaby’s stats vs Brighton |
|
|---|---|
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Shots on target |
1 |
|
Total duels (won) |
2 (0) |
|
Pass success |
7/12 (58%) |
|
Crosses |
0 |
|
Dribbles |
0 |
|
Possession lost |
6 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
On Sunday, the winger was once again anonymous during a Premier League match. Not only did he take just 17 touches during his time on the pitch, but the former Bayer Leverkusen gem also completed only seven of his 12 attempted passes and managed only one shot on target during the game.
His defensive output was also poor. Diaby won zero of his two ground duels contested along with losing possession six times and being dribbled past once. In a match where he was expected to shine, carrying on from midweek, the player looked tired.
Indeed, he was given a match rating of 5/10 by Birmingham Mail journalist John Townley for his performance. Does Emery drop him for the second leg? Or will he stick with the French winger in the hope that he improves?
Moussa Diaby’s statistics this season
Despite scoring ten goals and grabbing eight assists, It’s fair to say Diaby hasn’t quite lived up to his staggering £51.9m transfer fee.
Out of his 51 appearances for the club this term, the 24-year-old has started only 33, with Emery occasionally using him as an impact sub.
Among his teammates, Diaby does rank fourth for goals and assists (13) in the top flight, while also ranking second for shots on target per match (0.6), first for big chances created (12) and fifth for key passes per game (1.2), proving that he is one of Villa’s most dangerous attacking threats.
After this poor display against Brighton, however, Emery could well drop him to the bench against the Greek side, perhaps using him as a late sub if things are close.
Should Villa qualify for the Champions League, Diaby could use this as a platform to really showcase his talents and rediscover the incredible form which saw him shine for Leverkusen – registering 97 goal contributions in just 172 matches – between 2019 and 2023.
The Midlands side will have to come out firing on Thursday. If they manage to score an early goal, the club have a good chance of making it through to the final.
