Unai Out Thinks Conte As Villa Get Back To Winning Ways – Match Stats

First off, I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas (or however you celebrated the festive period) and I hope everyone has now sobered up from their exploits on New Years Eve…I think I finally have. For anyone who managed to make the long trip down to Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane ground on New Years Day, they could well require another day or two following on from Aston Villa’s excellent showing and 2-0 victory over Antonio Conte’s side.

Unai Emery raised a few eyebrows with no changes being made to the starting line up that lost 3-1 to Liverpool on Boxing Day, but given many argued that with better finishing that game could well have turned out differently, Emery will have been delighted to see his faith rewarded with a very good and organised performance from the players.

Although the hosts had far more possession, we remained in control of what they were able to do with it and limiting them to six shots (two on target) given the threats that can be Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, says everything. With a far higher foul count, and the fact I believe it took Kane over 20 minutes to gain is first touch, our organisation had them rattled and I imagine travelling fans couldn’t have wished for a better performance to bring the New Year in.

With the first half finishing scoreless, it took us five minutes after the restart to gain the advantage as Ollie Watkins set up Emi Buendia to make it 1-0, and we doubled our advantage 23 minutes later as John McGinn laid it on for Douglas Luiz to make it 2-0 – and Spurs had no counter.

Emery now becomes the first Villa manager since the heady days of John Gregory to win his first two games in charge, and given the fact we now have tactics, and seeing regular slow improvements as the players adjust to his game plans and wants, whilst we’ll continue to show signs of inconsistency for the remainder of the year, it would take a brave fan to argue we aren’t now back on an upward and improving curve.

Long may it continue.

We open the year with a Man of the Match again, I’d almost forgotten what one of those was.

Tottenham Hotspur				Aston Villa
				Buendia (50), Douglas Luiz (73)
Lloris				Olsen
Doherty			80	Young
Romero				Konsa			82
Lenglet				Mings
Davies				Digne
Perisic			88	McGinn			78
Bissouma			80	Kamara
Hojbjerg			88	Douglas Luiz			82
Gil			63	Buendia			82
Kane				Bailey			66
Son Heung-Min				Watkins
Substitutes
Skipp			88	Martinez
D Sanchez				Cash			66
Emerson Royal			80	Sanson
Dier				Ings			82
Sessegnon			63	Chambers			82
Forster				Augustinsson
Spence			88	Bednarek			82
Tanganga				Coutinho			78
Sarr			80	Archer

Game Statistics
6	Goal attempts	13
2	On Target	4
5	Corners	3
15	Fouls	10
4	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
59	%	41