Aston Villa were knocked out of the FA Cup on Wednesday night at Villa Park, losing 3-1 to Chelsea in the fourth-round replay on what was a night to forget for Unai Emery.
Aston Villa seemed to reignite their form by beating Sheffield United 5-0 on Saturday in the Premier League, a result that has now been overshadowed by Unai Emery’s side dropping out of the FA Cup at the hands of Chelsea.
The Villans were well-beaten on the night in front of the home crowd, losing 3-1 courtesy of goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez before Moussa Diaby pulled one back in injury time.
It was a result that not many would have predicted prior to the match as the hosts simply failed to match the desire and intensity of the Blues, who put the performances of some in claret and blue to shame.
There were a host of poor individual displays on what could have been a magical night under the lights, with one player surprising everyone with his sloppy showing.
Douglas Luiz was poor for Aston Villa against Chelsea
It’s not often that Douglas Luiz’s performances can be criticised for Villa, however, against Chelsea the £15m Brazilian looked well below par up against Moises Caicedo and Fernandez.
On a night where the midfield was described as “woeful” by WhoScored’s Martin Laurence, Luiz was at the heart of all things lacklustre, winning just four ground duels and losing possession 13 times in the engine room, via Sofascore.
What has been said about Douglas Luiz against Chelsea
Writing for Birmingham World, journalist Charlie Haffenden handed the 25-year-old a disastrous 4/10 match rating, summing up what went wrong for Villa’s number six against Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
“An uncharacteristically weak showing from Luiz as Fernandez, Caicedo and Gallagher ran rings around him. Put in a limp leg for Gallagher’s goal and didn’t show enough effort to get back for Jackson’s. Pushed aside to be passed easily by Madueke on the run in the first half.”
Failing to show “enough effort” in a fixture that could have paved another road for silverware for the Villans was disappointing to see from Luiz, who very rarely puts a foot wrong in Emery’s favoured XI.
From his continual loss of possession to being dribbled past twice in midfield, it was a night to forget for Villa and particularly Luiz, who will be eyeing redemption against Manchester United on Sunday.
