Aston Villa suffered their second defeat of the week on Sunday, losing 2-1 to Manchester United at Villa Park, in a game that left Unai Emery having to explain his decision to sub Leon Bailey.
Aston Villa tainted their strong home record once more on Sunday afternoon, seeing Manchester United take three points back to Old Trafford with an 86th-minute winner.
The Villans went behind in the first half through Rasmus Hojlund after some questionable defending from the hosts, before Douglas Luiz netted the equaliser after the hour mark.
Unfortunately for the Midlands side, another dose of lackadaisical defending saw Scott McTominay bury the winner past Emi Martinez just four minutes from time, marking United’s second late win against Villa this season.
Despite having some defensive frailties exposed, it wasn’t the quarrels in the back line that Unai Emery was quizzed over, but more so his decisions in attack after he withdrew Leon Bailey from the game in the 73rd minute.
Unai Emery explains his decision to sub Leon Bailey during Aston Villa defeat
Shortly after Luiz netted Villa’s equaliser, the hosts began to give fans a feeling that they could turn the contest on its head and take the lead, as the attack applied the pressure on United’s back line.
A lot of Villa’s threat came through Bailey, who recorded a 100% dribble success rate during the fixture, as well as recording two key passes from the flank to trouble Victor Lindelof, who struggled after replacing Luke Shaw at half-time.
With the opposition full-back then finding it difficult to contain the Jamaican forward, the manager’s decision to withdraw the 26-year-old was not well received.
When speaking to BirminghamWorld after the match, Emery explained his reason for hooking Bailey so prematurely.
“After the injury of Kamara, I decided to play Diaby with Bailey. Bailey he did a very big effort but when I was thinking to protect in the middle with Tielemans, I decided to play with Moussa on the right.”
Boubacar Kamara appeared to have suffered a knock to his knee during the contest, which the manager believed warranted the withdrawal of Bailey to compensate for the strength lost in midfield.
“This is a tactical change and of course, the way we are trying to get of Bailey is being fantastic. Hopefully he can continue improving and keeping being strong and progressively better.”
Leon Bailey is one of Aston Villa’s biggest threats in attack
It took a while for Bailey to secure his spot in the XI at the start of the season, having started only 11 of Villa’s Premier League fixtures so far this campaign.
Despite having a slow start in terms of cementing his position as a starter, the Jamaica international has shown his worth through his contribution to goals, scoring seven goals and securing six assists so far.
Progression has certainly been seen in the winger under Emery this term, with him only contributing four goals in the entirety of last season, and just one in his debut Premier League campaign in the 2021/22 calendar.
The reaction to Bailey’s substitution was one of frustration, although this only communicates the progress that the 26-year-old has made since making the move to England in 2021.
