Aston Villa were held to a 2-2 draw by Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town on Sunday as Diego Carlos was criticized for his display.
Aston Villa missed the chance to move up to second in the Premier League by throwing away two points at Portman Road after hitting the front through Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.
Liam Delap’s 72nd-minute leveller, which sent Diego Carlos to the shops, saw the hosts snatch a deserved point in the contest.
Unai Emery had Emi Martinez to thank in the Villa goal, with the Argentine pulling off some fantastic saves while he would have been less than impressed with Carlos.
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Diego Carlos was ‘really, really poor’ in the draw vs Ipswich Town
Aston Villa’s decision not to sign a centre-back in the summer now looks even worse after Carlos was ‘terrorised’ by the front line at Portman Road.
Tim Sherwood slammed Carlos’ defending for the second goal as ‘so bad’, with the Brazilian caught out of position high up the pitch before Delap sold him the dummy and calmly finished by Martinez.
This isn’t the first time that the 31-year-old has been put under the spotlight of criticism as he gave the ball away cheaply against Young Boys and was at fault for Matheus Cunha’s goal in the win over Wolves.
Villa – who nearly sold Carlos in the summer – will perhaps regret not sanctioning a deal, with journalist John Townley picking out one area of his game that was disappointing.
“The amount of times that he was a few yards deeper than the rest of the defensive line, which again is unlike him because he was still a key element of the team who got top four last season,” Townley told the Claret & Blue podcast.
“And he was in line with the defence. So why is he now dropping so much deeper to play players onside.
The Aston Villa expert was also critical of his defending up against Delap, particularly for the second goal, labelling him ‘really, really poor’.
He added: “And why is he getting skinned so easily by Liam Delap? But like, it was really, really poor. And again, me saying this, I’m pretty sure most people are saying it, but Carlos will probably know this himself.”
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Aston Villa must sell Diego Carlos next summer
Carlos – who was signed from Sevilla for £26m in the summer of 2022 – should be sold by Aston Villa next summer.
The Brazilian was lambasted after he was sent off in the first half of a pre-season game against RB Leipzig, and he’s unfortunately carried that ill-discipline into this campaign.
Previously, Carlos has been criticised for giving the ball away cheaply but now he’s also showing frailties in his defensive play, as explained by Townley.
The experienced centre-back is sadly one of the few liabilities in Emery’s squad and if they want to consistently compete for European football, they can ill-afford to carry passengers.
Next summer, Villa must ensure that Carlos is moved on and a replacement is sourced, as currently, it’s looking like a mistake keeping him.
