Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has shared whether he would take a penalty against Olympiacos on Thursday after the Brazilian missed from the spot in the first leg.
All eyes will be on Piraeus on Thursday evening, as Aston Villa prepare to battle Olympiacos in the decisive second leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final.
The Midlands club have a two-goal deficit to overturn if they are to start dreaming of the final, making the trip to Greece a pivotal one for Unai Emery’s side to truly test their limits.
In the first leg, Villa clawed back to see the scoreline sit at 2-2 before the visitors stunned Villa Park to restore their two-goal lead, winning the opening fixture 4-2 to put one foot in the final.
The game was a trialling one for the Villans and particularly Douglas Luiz, who had a nightmare first leg.
Douglas Luiz shares whether he would take a penalty against Olympiacos
The Brazilian’s night was agonisingly summed up by his poor luck in both penalty areas, where he was penalised for handling the ball to see Olympiacos awarded a penalty, and then failed to convert a late penalty himself.
If the 25-year-old had scored, Villa would be just one goal behind in the tie ahead of the daunting away leg, making his miss even more of a hard pill to swallow.
That being said, Luiz has admitted that he won’t be shy in front of the spot if the opportunity arises in Greece, sharing his confidence on the tie and his ability, when speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference.
As relayed by ITV journalist Dan Salisbury-Jones, the Brazil international said:
“We are still believing that we can go through… if we have another penalty I will take it.”
It’s a bold claim from the Villa favourite who has every right to be confident in his spot-taking strengths, with him having converted 100% of his four penalties in the Premier League this season.
Douglas Luiz will want to improve his performance against Olympiacos
Aside from missing the late penalty to decrease the deficit to just one goal, Luiz struggled in-game, seeing many fans take to social media to share their verdict on the usually reliable midfielder’s display.
It’s been a difficult few weeks for the 25-year-old, who has struggled to impose himself in the engine room without his counterpart, Boubacar Kamara, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in February.
The Frenchman’s defensive presence handed Luiz the keys to venture upfield and float around, where he has shown his best form, something that has sadly been restricted in his partner’s absence.
After a difficult first leg, it’s refreshing to hear of the former Manchester City star’s confidence with reference to penalties, with the tie having the potential to reach a penalty shootout if the Villans can level the score.
