Aston Villa 0-0 Juventus
VILLA PARK — Well that was dull, but at least we now know the answer to what happens when an out-of-form team face a side fielding their youngest ever Champions League XI.
That’s something, kind of, as is the point Aston Villa have picked up in drawing with Juventus, one that maintains their unbeaten start at home in this competition and leaves their top-eight hopes in the balance.
Villa are now ninth in this 36-team table, with RB Leipzig and Monaco away and Celtic at home all to come, making a draw against Juve – the 36-time Serie A winners, after all – and yet another Champions League clean sheet no bad thing.
But on top of the disappointment of Morgan Rogers’ late strike being ruled out, the manner of this draw did little to lift the mood inside Villa Park. In all competitions Villa’s winless run extends to seven games, the longest dry spell of Unai Emery’s two years and one month here, and he would do well to thaw out his players in time for Chelsea away on Sunday, where it could easily stretch to eight.
Wednesday night was a win for the cold. The warmth from the pre-match pyrotechnics was fleeting, and after the applause for Emiliano Martinez – parading his two Yashin trophies before kick-off – died down and the supporters’ roar to end the Champions League anthem subsided, a freeze set in.
It took hold of some 42,000 across the four stands of Villa Park, but crucially the 22 on the field as well, and what followed was an opening half-hour where very little of note happened, save for fan frustration with referee Jesus Gil Manzano as Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey picked up early bookings.
The first shot on target was not until the 37th minute, Ollie Watkins working himself a yard of space and testing Michele Di Gregorio, while Francisco Conceicao responded in kind as Martinez made a smart stop.
In the first and only minute of stoppage time, Lucas Digne’s free-kick then struck the top of the bar and bounced away, as did the memory of a half best left forgotten.
After the break, Martinez showed why he has been named the world’s best goalkeeper back-to-back, denying Conceicao with one hand to keep the winger’s header out – just.
The chant of “the world’s number one” was Villa fans’ first call to action that half, proving how bereft they had been of any attacking output from their own team.
That changed in the 70th minute when Bailey picked out John McGinn, whose low shot was blocked, but otherwise it was all too slow, with Rogers looking lethargic and Watkins feeding on scraps.
Juve may well laugh, given they had just six players including two goalkeepers on the bench, but Villa were not exactly blessed with options beyond the inevitable introduction of Jhon Duran.
That happened all too late, in the 78th minute, with Ross Barkley also coming on, and it did nothing to change the outcome of this match – with Rogers denied in injury time – leaving Emery with more head-scratching to do.
The problem appears to be in midfield, where the wait for Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara to start together goes on. This is arguably the desired double pivot for Emery since Douglas Luiz left for Juve in the summer, but what could well be a promising partnership is yet to take flight.
In the meantime, Emery has kept faith with Tielemans, starting the Belgian in every Champions League and Premier League match so far this term.
Tielemans is arguably better used further forward – he scored Villa’s first Champions League goal back at Young Boys in September – but for now he is plugging a gap, and once Onana returns it could be a case of choosing one of McGinn or Tielemans in a more attacking role.
Rogers’ own position – having played out on the left against Juve with McGinn the attacking central midfielder – could come into question too, for despite the late drama he was otherwise poor, and that leaves Emery with the prospect of dropping either his captain or a player who recently made his England debut, should he want to move Tielemans up.
Reminding Rogers he is not undroppable could prove beneficial in the long run, and though it seems drastic, in this moment something has got to give. Such a run requires a bold change.
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