Lucas Digne’s free-kick helped France take all three points against Italy at the San Siro, finishing top of Group A2.
This builds on his fantastic form for Aston Villa so far this season as he’s kept big-money summer signing Ian Maatsen out of the team.
The Frenchman has been consistent and rarely put a foot wrong despite Villa’s poor form of late and has been an ever-present in Unai Emery’s Premier League starting 11.
On international duty, he replicated that fine form. French media raved about Digne’s performance, in a match where the Villa man showcased just what he can do. Digne was even credited man of the match vs the Italians.
Although – he didn’t exactly get all the credit for his actions.
Lucas Digne’s misfortune for France vs Italy
Digne hit a powerful free kick that cannoned off the bar and struck the Italian keeper, Guglielmo Vicario’s back. The goal was given as an own goal much to the disappointment of Digne.
He reflected after the game and said: “They gave it to the goalkeeper, it’s a shame because it gives him a bad stat on top of that, let’s say that I did 50% of the work.
“But, the most important thing is that it helped the team win.”
He went on to discuss how important it was for him to enjoy the experience.
“I’m proud of my journey and I’m happy to have played my 50th game at the San Siro in a great stadium.
“Even though I’ve been coming to the national team for a long time, I still want to enjoy it as much as possible.”
How has Digne been playing for Villa?
Digne has played 13 games so far for Villa this season racking up the fifth most Premier League minutes of any player in the Villa squad.
He leads Villa’s defensive options in total tackles won, total interceptions, total blocks, and errors leading to a goal in the Premier League this season according to data from fbref.com.
| Premier League Total Statistics | Lucas Digne | Pau Torres | Ezri Konsa | Diego Carlos |
| Minutes played | 841 | 990 | 821 | 470 |
| Tackles won | 15 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Blocks | 11 | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| Errors leading to a goal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
It is clear from the data that Digne has been one of the standout players in the Villa squad and arguably the most consistent defender.
This comes with the mounted pressure of a marquee signing of Ian Maatsen in the summer who arrived with Champions League pedigree and excited a lot of supporters.
