Unai Emery described how Douglas Luiz overcame illness to lead Villa to their greatest away victory in the Premier League since 2008.
Written by Nathan Judah
Posted eight hours ago
The Brazilian midfielder was instrumental in Villa’s 5-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday night, which sent them back into the Premier League’s top four.
Luiz assisted in setting up two of Emery’s team’s four goals in the first half of the match, including one of the best passes of the year to Ollie Watkins, who scored the second goal
Luiz assisted in setting up two of Emery’s team’s four goals in the first half of the match, including one of the best passes of the year to Ollie Watkins, who scored the second goal.
Emery later revealed that he had been touch-and-go at the beginning of the game owing to sickness, which had led to his removal at halftime.
The Villa manager stated, “He didn’t feel well before the match this morning, but he wanted to play because he felt the power to play and get the performance to help the team.”
We made the decision to rest him at halftime due to the problems and change him because it was taking care of him. He felt powerful and wanted to support the team, so he made the decision to play.
Villa, who had won just once in their previous five games, took total control of the game with goals from John McGinn, Watkins, Leon Bailey, and Youri Tielemans.
Early in the second half, Alex Moreno added a fifth goal, and Villa’s sole letdown was that they were unable to score more.Watkins now has 16 goals this season across all competitions, including 11 in the league, matching his previous best Villa total.
Ollie genuinely is a player that is very dedicated to both the team and his job. “He’s totally focused on football and Villa; he wants to win and get better, and that sets a great example for everyone,” Emery remarked.
“Even after we examined the Everton game, he had four excellent scoring opportunities but lacked consistency.”
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