Aston Villa’s 2-0 pre-season defeat to RB Leipzig will have fans worrying ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The US pre-season tour continued with defeat on Thursday morning as Aston Villa suffered a 2-0 loss to RB Leipzig.
Unai Emery’s side were hoping to improve on their 4-1 defeat to Columbus Crew that kicked off the tour, leaving their fans in the States waiting to witness a victory.
With it being pre-season, the fixture was more of a learning curve than a damning loss for Emery to study however, several elements will have worried the manager and supporters.
- READ MORE: Unai Emery will be concerned after what happened in Aston Villa pre-season defeat v RB Leipzig
Three things that will concern Aston Villa after pre-season friendly defeat to RB Leipzig
Goals from Andre Silva and Lois Openda settled the scoreline, which was also impacted by Diego Carlos’ early dismissal.
The Brazilian picked up two yellow cards in the first half, both coming as a result of squabbles with Openda, revealing one major problem for Emery.
Diego Carlos was rash yet again
Being sent off in a friendly was disappointing to see, particularly as it was purely down to Carlos’ inability to control himself.
It’s a grave concern for Villa, who are incredibly light in central defensive depth, with the 31-year-old one of only three fit centre-backs ready to start the Premier League season.
Judging by the former Sevilla ace’s actions against Leipzig, Emery will be even more alarmed by the lack of reliability Villa have at the back.
Amadou Onana at centre-back
Signed for £50m from Everton, Villa welcomed Amadou Onana to the squad to help fill the void in midfield left by Douglas Luiz.
The Belgian was captured to be a decisive figure in Emery’s engine room not in central defence, where he was forced to be deployed after Carlos’ red card.
The issue reverts back to the glaring concern of Villa’s slim options at centre-back, as well as being disappointing for Onana.
Pre-season is a time for new players to learn their new roles, something that the 22-year-old was denied against Leipzig as he lined up in defence.
Lack of presence in attack
While not securing a win is a minor issue in pre-season, it was alarming to see how few chances Villa created against Leipzig.
Journalist John Townley praised the Bundesliga side’s ability to sniff out danger, as Villa’s front line was “nullified” for the majority of the fixture, via BirminghamLive.
Several players that Emery would usually rely on to cause problems were quiet during the contest, on what was a particularly slow night for Leon Bailey, who was so integral to Villa’s front line last term.
Plenty of time to correct errors seen against Leipzig
Fortunately for Emery, time is on his side when it comes to addressing the key issues that came from the Leipzig defeat.
Pre-season is very much a time for the boss to iron out the creases in his squad, with the new arrivals having plenty to learn ahead of the start of the Premier League.
Villa have three pre-season friendlies remaining before the league season kicks off at the London Stadium, with tests against Club America, Athletic Bilbao and Borussia Dortmund coming up.
