Aston Villa were taunted by Manchester City on Wednesday night, losing 4-1 at the Etihad where a worrying trend was spotted regarding one of Unai Emery’s best players.
It was a gruelling night for Aston Villa at the Etihad on Wednesday evening, as Manchester City allowed Phil Foden to pull the strings and expose any weakness the visitors carried.
The Englishman netted a hattrick to round off an emphatic display that simply outclassed the Midlands club who, for all their efforts, were left helpless by the time the final whistle blew.
With games coming thick and fast, Unai Emery decided to make six changes to the starting XI that beat Wolves, with 20-year-old Jhon Duran making a start and scoring Villa’s only goal in the fixture.
A combination of squad players and established starters adorned the claret and blue at the Etihad, with one star having a rather worrying showing amid all the changes.
Worrying Douglas Luiz trend spotted against Manchester City
With Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey all unavailable, it was young Tim Iroegbunam who was selected to partner Douglas Luiz in midfield.
On a night when the 20-year-old would go toe-to-toe with Rodri, it was feared that the Bodymoor Heath talent’s inexperience would be exposed however, surprisingly, it was his counterpart that had people worried at the Etihad.
Usually Villa’s Mr Reliable, Luiz had a difficult night in Manchester, seeing him being booked after only 38 minutes after persistently giving away fouls.
After he had been booked, the Brazilian flew into a tackle on Foden just outside the box, causing journalist Sam Tighe to comment on the 25-year-old’s lack of discipline.
“There are barely any flaws to Douglas Luiz’s game, he is brilliant. But his propensity to give away free-kicks in very dangerous areas at very dangerous times is…not good.”
Douglas Luiz has been under pressure defensively in midfield
It’s been a difficult time for Luiz, who despite consistently performing well for the Villans, has had to adapt to life without his engine room partner, Kamara.
On top of that, the Brazil international has been without McGinn for the previous three fixtures in the Premier League, leaving him as the lone wolf when it comes to providing defensive cover in the midfield.
With Kamara and McGinn, the former Manchester City man was handed a sense of assurance that there was a player capable of showing a combative edge if needed, something he hasn’t had without the duo.
This season, Luiz has averaged 1.4 fouls per game in the Premier League, with him committing a total of eight fouls in his previous three games without McGinn present.
It could be pondered as to whether the £15m 2019 signing has attempted to step up defensively in McGinn’s absence, hence the worrying trend being spotted of him committing fouls.
The tackle against Manchester City that Tighe commented on resulted in the hosts reclaiming the lead over Villa, as Foden converted the free-kick to Luiz’s disappointment.
Luckily, with McGinn set to return against Brentford having served his three-match suspension, usual service should resume for the midfielder.
