Unai Emery’s Aston Villa made it three wins on the bounce across all competitions with a 0-2 victory over Feyenoord.
The Villans are now perfect in the Europa League, having also beaten Bologna in their opening match.
Despite Feyenoord having less of the ball (41% possession), the Dutch outfit managed 19 shots in the game, creating three big chances and generating 1.33 Expected Goals. Villa were only able to take six shots in the entire match, creating two big chances and generating 0.65 xG.
But Emery was able to identify the issues from the first half, leading to a much more controlled second half performance, resulting in another win for the Villans.
In this article, we’ll cover
Feyenoord’s aggressive press
In the first half, Robin van Persie’s side were looking to press in a man-to-man fashion, with the wingers pressing high on the full-backs, the striker and attacking midfielder on the two central defenders, and the two holding midfielders jumping up onto Villa’s midfield duo.
Both central defenders for Feyenoord would then jump up to apply pressure to Villa’s double No.10s, as Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers operated between the lines. The full-backs sat narrow, picking up both Ollie Watkins and Evann Guessand.
This stunted Emery’s side in the first half, limiting them to just three shots with a combined xG of 0.04, as only one of the shots were on target.
Meanwhile, Feyenoord were able to force plenty of turnovers, generating chances of their own, taking 13 shots and creating two big chances in the first half.
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Emery’s tactical tweaks
Compared to the first half, Emery pushed Matty Cash further up after the break, having a higher start position to pin Feyenoord’s left-winger deep.
Guessand then took up a more central starting positioning, allowing him to pin the Feyenoord left-back infield, causing disruption to the Dutch sides press.
This allowed Villa to have more control of the game, despite their possession average being the same in both halves (59%). The second half saw Emery’s side generate 0.61 xG from two big chances, scoring two goals and managing 56 more passes than the first half.
Emery was able to identify how Feyenoord were pinning them back, make the necessary tweaks and tip the tie in his sides favour, something he has been doing at Villa since he arrived.
Solid spine imperative
But this wasn’t just an Emery masterclass. The spine of the team was solid throughout, providing good quality in the first phase of build up and winning their duels in order to sustain pressure and shut down opposition transitions.
Boubacar Kamara got the assist for Buendia’s opener, keeping the ball alive at the top of the box by winning his ground duel, allowing the forward to curl his effort home.
The French midfielder won four of his six ground duels, won three of his four aerial duels and made two tackles in the match, also completing 97% of his passes, including two out of two long balls.
Ezri Konsa was just as important in this department, stepping out of defence to help sustain pressure inside the Feyenoord half, winning all three of his ground duels, one of his three aerial duels and making two blocks in the match.
Bright Buendia
Perhaps the man of the match for this one, Buendia was excellent in his hybrid role, starting out on the left with license to drift infield and play in the left half space.
The 28-year-old has featured heavily this season, playing eight times already, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Buendia managed 46 touches against Feyenoord, creating one chance, completing one of his three dribble attempts and winning six of his 12 ground duels.
His willingness to work hard off the ball in the counter press, and then knit play together between the lines for Villa was priceless, adding the moment of quality for his goal before being subbed at 71 minutes.
Emery’s men have managed to turn a turbulent start to the season into a solid start in Europe, whilst simultaneously turning things around in the Premier League. Their next fixture against Burnley this weekend will be key to climbing the league table, with a win giving them a chance to jump as high as the top half before the international break.