UNAI EMERY has been hailed a ‘tactical genius’ by Aston Villa hero Ollie Watkins.
And by his logic, that makes Enzo Maresca a tactical dunce.
Part of Watkins’ praise for his manager is grounded in the fact that his side have picked up more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League, with 18 points rescued.
As for Chelsea, they have lost more points from winning positions than any other side, with a total of 11 dropped.
The Blues choking a 1-0 half-time lead at home to Emery’s Villains, then, may have been the least surprising result of the weekend.
In the eyes of the England forward, there is one key reason for Villa’s current 11-game winning streak.
Watkins, after scoring a brace, said: “Unai Emery is a tactical genius, and I want to say that.
“He changed our system because Chelsea were playing man-to-man, but they had an extra centre-back when we went long.
“When I came on in the second half, he brought Jadon Sancho and Morgan Rogers out wide and moved Youri Tielemans into the No.10 role. That gave us an extra player in that area. He’s a tactical genius!
As for Chelsea, there have been more complaints about Enzo Maresca‘s in-game management.
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And a few of them came from Cole Palmer.
This game was billed as the battle between Palmer, 23, and his childhood friend, Morgan Rogers.
But after being substituted in the 71st minute, the Chelsea man flailed his arms in the air and complained when he was exchanged for Estevao, who made little impact himself.
Other substitutions included Malo Gusto coming on at left-back to replace Marc Cucurella, Liam Delap replacing goalscorer Joao Pedro, and a like-for-like swap of Alejandro Garnacho for Jamie Gittens.
None of them improved Chelsea.
Maresca has spoken several times about his need to rotate the team due to injuries, suspension, and fitness, but every time Chelsea lose, his critics grow louder.
Saturday’s game was the fourth time the Blues have lost a match after going 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge, and if it happens again, he will match the record of five set by Glenn Hoddle.
Maresca’s next few matches could prove crucial if he is to get back at those aforementioned critics.
Chelsea will need to cope with the potential absence of key man Cucurella against Bournemouth, who came off with a knock to his hamstring, before facing Manchester City at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Emery will be tasked with breaking the record of Aston Villa‘s longest ever winning streak, when they face league leaders Arsenal on Tuesday.
A win against the Gunners would make it 12 on the bounce for Watkins, Rogers and co, who currently stand shoulder to shoulder with the record set in 1897 and 1914.
With the level of confidence in the Villa camp at the moment, though, they could well do it, and have already beaten Mikel Arteta‘s side once this month, with a 2-1 win at Villa Park.
It will be a tougher game though, after two of their key players, Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash, picked up yellow cards against Chelsea, which will see them miss Tuesday’s clash.
