Aston Villa’s poor run of form continued after a 0-0 draw at Villa Park against Juventus on Wednesday night. Unai Emery’s side faced heartbreak at the death, with a late goal ruled out. The Villans are now without a win in seven games, as their concerning spell goes on.
It was Morgan Rogers’ strike that was ruled out right before the final whistle. Youri Tielemans’ freekick was dropped by Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. Rogers simply picked up the loose ball and fired home, and thought he had won it for the Villans. However, after a VAR check, Diego Carlos was deemed to have fouled the Juve shot stopper and the goal was ruled out.
Statistically, both sides were relatively even. According to Sofascore, the Old Lady slightly dominated possession, with 56% to the home side’s 44%. The Villans did have more shots, with 11 compared to Juve’s eight, and created a higher expected goals total, 1.23xG to 0.44xG.
It was a frustrating night for the Villans, who are desperate to end their lean run of form and thought they had done as much before VAR intervened. There were some disappointing performances from those in Claret and Blue, with Rogers one of the players who struggled.
Rogers’ stats vs. Juventus
It is perhaps no coincidence that Villa’s poor run of form has coincided with a tough spell for Rogers. He has been a talismanic figure under Emery this season but has managed just one goal involvement in Villa’s winless run.
It was another tough night for the attacking midfielder against Juventus. Against a well-drilled Juve side coached by Thiago Motta, there was little room for him to get on the ball, and he had little impact on the game.
The England international, who made his senior debut this month, earned a post-match rating of 4/10 from GOAL journalist Harry Sherlock. He explained the attacker ‘struggled against Juve’s physicality in midfield’ although did praise his effort, explaining he ‘kept plugging away’ against the Old Lady.
Indeed, the Manchester City academy graduate did not have the best stats from the game, either. He had 48 touches of the ball, completing 75% of his passes and losing the ball 19 times. Off the ball, the Villa number 27 won just two from ten ground duels.
Rogers was not the only Villa attacker who disappointed against the Old Lady, however, with Leon Bailey also having a tough night.
Leon Bailey’s stats vs. Juventus
Like his fellow attacker Rogers, Bailey had a really frustrating time of things against Juventus. He also struggled to have any impact on the game in an attacking sense, although not for a lack of effort.
Again, Motta’s well-drilled defensive set-up meant Bailey could not really have any impact in the final third, and although he was persistent, there was simply no way past such a resilient Juve defence. The winger was also wasteful in possession at times.
His stats from the game certainly reflect the tough night for the Jamaican. He had 43 touches of the ball and a pass accuracy of just 70%. The former Bayer Leverkusen man lost the ball 16 times, and completed only two out of four dribbles. It was not an easy night for the winger.
Stat
Number
Pass accuracy
70%
Touches
43
Passes completed
16/23
Number of times possession lost
16
Ground duels won
5/11
Dribbles completed
2/4
Tackles won
0/1
He also received a 4/10 rating from Sherlock for his efforts against the Turin side. The journalist explained that try as he might to breach the Juve defence, Bailey simply ‘couldn’t get beyond them’ at all.
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It was another really difficult evening for the Villans, who now face a tough assignment at Stamford Bridge against high-flying Chelsea, as they desperately look for a win to break this wretched run.
On the evidence of yesterday’s outing, Bailey should find himself among the substitutes for the trip to west London.
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