Aston Villa were forced to share the points at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as Unai Emery’s side struggled to hit their usual pace against West Ham.
Aston Villa joined Tottenham in fumbling their opportunity to take full control in the race for fourth place this weekend, as the Villans drew 1-1 with West Ham United.
After Spurs lost 3-0 to Fulham yesterday, Villa went into the fixture knowing that a win could extend their lead in fourth to five points, something that was not achieved in the capital.
Despite the visitors dominating possession with 70% of the ball, it was West Ham that looked to be more of a threat throughout the majority of the game however, both sides were forced to settle for a point after 90 minutes.
Aston Villa were far from their best against West Ham
In a game that had so much potential for Villa, the Midlands side looked way off the pace when it came to building through the channels against the Hammers.
The best chances of the game fell to West Ham, who opened the scoring in the 29th minute thanks to Michail Antonio.
After the interval, Villa conceded again as the Jamaican thought he’d secured a brace however, the goal was ruled out by VAR on a day where the officiating took centre stage.
It seemed as though the chalking out of West Ham’s second inspired the visitors, who began to threaten, with their efforts paying off just before the 80th minute thanks to a goal created by the substitutes.
Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo combined to level the scoring at 1-1, with the drama coming in the dying embers as Tomas Soucek saw his match-winning goal also ruled out due to a handball.
While the Villans will be delighted to walk away from the game with a point after the late theatrics, Unai Emery will be disappointed with one key element of his side that let him down.
Youri Tielemans struggled in midfield against West Ham
Many expected to see young Tim Iroegbunam take the place of the suspended John McGinn against the Hammers however, it was Youri Tielemans who assumed his position alongside Douglas Luiz.
Throughout the game, Villa’s midfield looked scarce and short of inspiration as passes were misplaced and the visitors struggled to generate positive passages of play through the lines.
During the fixture, BBC pundit Danny Gabbidon blasted Tielemans for his inability to keep hold of the ball, accusing the Belgian of “chasing” in midfield.
“Tielemans, sloppy in possession, he’s chasing Kudus.”
The 26-year-old had a day of ups and downs, with his retention of the ball not good enough, but his distribution pivotal at times, playing an integral part in Villa’s equaliser.
Journalist Matt Maher dubbed Tielemans’ performance as “regularly switching from delightful to dreadful”, as he struggled to keep up with the Irons’ midfield.
Having lost possession 11 times in the 90 minutes, the £150k-a-week star will give Emery a few things to think about ahead of the next fixture.
