Aston Villa lost for the first time in 17 matches at home as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat against Newcastle United.
For weeks now Unai Emery’s side haven’t performed at a high level and the Spaniard was tactically outsmarted by his opposite number on Tuesday night.
A double from defender Fabian Schar and an Alex Moreno own goal took the game out of Villa’s reach and they only looked like mounting a comeback when Emery looked to the bench for inspiration.
He introduced Nicolo Zaniolo, Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey on the hour mark, with the Jamaican whiz having the biggest impact on proceedings.
The 26-year-old instantly caused Newcastle problems with his pace and trickery as Dan Burn struggled to live with him.
But after feeling aggrieved by being left out of the starting XI, Bailey demonstrated his quality for Villa’s goal.
He touched the ball down beautifully, fashioned a yard of space and flashed a cross into the path of Ollie Watkins who dispatched his opportunity.
This immediate impact off the bench left Villa supporters dumbfounded at the decision to leave him out of the starting lineup, but Emery has now explained that decision.
Unai Emery says why he didn’t start Leon Bailey v Newcastle
The decision to place Bailey on the bench for the second game running was not tactical but for something different.
According to Emery, the Jamaican whiz has been suffering from a minor injury problem and wasn’t 100% sure to start.
He said: “He had a problem with his back and was not 100 per cent at Chelsea. I decided to play with the starting XI we did in Chelsea. He played very good. I try to be consistent with every player and to give them confidence.”
Bailey certainly didn’t play like he had an injury in that second half with Ally McCoist describing his assist as ‘tremendous’.
Leon Bailey’s stats v Newcastle
The former Bayer Leverkusen man made an immense all-round impact on the contest.
Although most of the plaudits were directed towards his assist for Watkins, he also served up some truly remarkable statistics.
In his 30 or so minutes on the pitch, he made five key passes, four successful dribbles, and two crosses while winning four of his six ground duels, as per Sofascore.
If a player served up those metrics across ninety minutes they’d receive praise for their performance, never mind from just half an hour on the pitch.
Emery must therefore throw Bailey in from the start against Sheffield United on Saturday.
