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The Villa boys from Aston have only conceded 41 goals in the Premier League this season compared to them leaking 67 goals last season, but what factors have played their part in Villa’s defensive transformation?
On a number of occasions throughout the 2019/20 campaign, Aston Villa would concede almost a dozen goals in games. Their home tie against Manchester City at the turn of the decade, in which they shipped six, showed how little defensive solidity that the Villains had last term.
Whilst City played impeccably, Villa’s defence was all over the place with next to no structure shown, which is a recipe for disaster in the Premier League.
However, this season their defence has been outstanding, with many calling for all four of their English defenders to be called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s European Championships.
How has the Birmingham outfit transformed their defensive unit from relegation strugglers to joint fourth in the goals against column?
Magnificent Martinez
Good recruitment in the summer of 2020 was vital for the side as they looked to improve on a disappointing 2019/20 season, after escaping relegation from the claws of the Championship on the final day of the season.
The goalkeeper was a position that last season came under a lot of scrutiny for Villa, as goalkeepers had been very mistake-prone throughout the previous campaign, which was one factor that sucked the side into a tight relegation battle.
In came Emi Martinez for £20 million from Arsenal.
Villa have only conceded 41 goals so far this season with three fixtures to go – an intriguing statistic which is largely thanks to Martinez in between the sticks. The Argentinian shot-stopper has been a revelation as he has kept 16 clean sheets so far in his maiden campaign for the Villains.
The shot-stopper is always alert to dangers and can react in the most vital moments, which has seen him pull of not only world-class saves but key decisions in match-defining moments for the side.
The Argentinian has made 128 saves so far this season with a 75.7% save percentage which is better than Ederson and Alisson who are two of the best goalkeepers in the world.
This stat compared to last season, where Pepe Reina and Orjan Nyland took the gloves in the second half of the season where Villa shipped a lot more goals before the season was halted in March – including a 6-1 hammering against Manchester City and a 4-0 drubbing away at Leicester which included a major Reina mistake.
The goalkeepers only made 48 saves between each other in 19 games. Reina had a 62.3% save succession and Nyland had a 55.6%, a staggering difference to the Argentine.
Alongside this, he commands his area which gets the very best out of the backline in front of him – a key trait for a modern-day goalkeeper.
Tips from Terry
One of England and Chelsea’s most crucial players throughout the early 21st century, John Terry is part of Villa’s coaching setup. Smith’s right-hand man, Terry offers a lot of advice, which players like Tyrone Mings has hugely benefitted from.
In a press conference ahead of his England debut in 2019, Mings explained how good it is to have Terry’s nous in training on a day-to-day basis which has helped him become an England International:
“He has developed my game for sure, I’ve been fortunate to work with some really good coaches over the years; Mick McCarthy, Eddie Howe, Dean Smith but John Terry is just another great example of somebody I can learn from, who has been there and achieved everything I would want to achieve in the game. To learn from him and take little pieces of advice from him is something I feel really fortunate to be able to do.”
Terry has also helped youngster Ezri Konsa to flourish and become a regular in Aston Villa’s team, the 23-year-old explained how Terry has helped his development as a defender in an interview with TalkSport:
“John and I have been doing a lot of one-to-one sessions before training, after matchdays, watching my clips.”
Konsa added: “I’ve been asking him questions on what I need to do to improve, what I need to do to stay at the highest level and maintain a good mentality. After watching my clips with him, his main advice is to train hard, keep your training standards high and it will come back on the pitch.”
Learning from an experienced head can go a long way in football and it’s clear to see that Terry has had a big part to play in Villa’s fantastic defensive form this term.
Excelling Ezri and Terrific Tyrone
The English defensive duo have been vital for Villa this season. Mings and Konsa have been solid all season long and Mings’ experience has helped Konsa’s development in matches this season.
The duo have scored two goals each in the Premier League this season, which shows how key they are from attacking set-pieces – these being a huge strength of the Villains this season.
On the other end of the pitch, the partners average 2.6 aerial duels won per game, much to the testament of Mings’ height and Konsa’s jumping as well as their aggression and grit.
The two are tough defenders and get in the way of everything. One of their collective strengths this season has been blocking shots and dangerous crosses, which can often start a counterattacking move – another huge strength for the Birmingham outfit.
The pairing’s most recent tie against Everton displayed how willing they are to give it all for the badge. With the task of marking two of the Premier League’s most threatening attackers in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, Mings and Konsa held the Toffees to a goalless draw.
In this game we saw tough tackles by Mings, who was determined not to let his compatriot get the better of him. We also saw Konsa deal with Richarlison’s pace well, as the Brazillian was firmly tucked away in the Villa defender’s pocket.
Not only this, Mings also came close to opening the scoring early on as he was on the end of a pinpoint Douglas Luiz cross which went narrowly wide of the right post.
Both players will definitely be catching Gareth Southgate’s eye following their fantastic campaign, as the England manager is due to select his squad for this summer’s European Championships in just over a week’s time.
Mings has eight England caps to his name already, whereas Konsa is still awaiting his first senior England call-up, having represented the Three Lions on 12 occasions at under-20 and under-21 level.
Wicked Wing-backs
Another solid summer addition who has been key for Villa’s defensive rejuvenation was Matty Cash who signed from Nottingham Forest. The 23-year-old right-back has enjoyed a solid maiden season in claret and blue.
Cash was bought in to replace Frederic Guilbert, who’d struggled to adjust to life as a Premier League player. The Frenchman is currently out on loan at Strasbourg for the remainder of the 2020/21 season.
Matt Targett and Cash have been a fantastic wing-back pairing this season who fit Dean Smith’s system perfectly. The role of a modern-day full-back is to get up and down the pitch, to defend and to make extra numbers in a high-tempo attack at the other end of the pitch on the overlap, which the duo have done superbly this year.
In defensive situations, both Cash and Targett have great athleticism – which is a trait that Neil Taylor and Ahmed El Mohamady don’t have. Furthermore, both are great tacklers and win the ball in key areas before pushing up the pitch to launch a counter-attack, with Villa deadly from these situations this season.
Villa’s wingbacks also chip in with assists, Cash has chalked up two assists so far this season and Targett has clocked one. The pair also possess deadly pinpoint crossing which has led to some key chances being created when Mings and Konsa stay in the opposition box from a corner.
This defensive unit is a future-proof partnership as Cash, Konsa and Targett are all 25-years-old or under, and the experience of Mings and the input from John Terry in training will be useful to help the defence in development.
The aim for Villa will be to build on their successful defensive foundations from this year and will want to better their goals against, which is over 20 goals fewer than last season barring any blunders in the final few games.
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