Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has been criticised after the 1-1 draw against West Ham United on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s team were fortunate to come back with a point from the London Stadium. The Hammers had two goals disallowed for a handball offense.
The most contentious moment occurred in the closing seconds when Tomas Soucek’s game-winning goal was disqualified, resulting in points being shared between both the teams.
Aston Villa missed the presence of John McGinn
Villa were short-handed in the midfield due to the suspension of John McGinn following his red card last week and the long term absence of Boubacar Kamara.
Youri Tielemans’ inability to provide the necessary protection to keep the back line safe has left the team lacking in defensive workers.
The Belgian set up the move that saw Nicolo Zaniolo tie the score in the 79th minute, and it was his over-the-top pass to Moussa Diaby that set up Villa’s equalizer.
However, the 26-year-old frequently found himself out of position, and his performance was criticised by football pundits.
Due to some weaknesses in Tielemans’ playing, co-host Robbie Earle of The 2 Robbies podcast emphasized how much Villa missed McGinn’s presence.
“I thought they missed McGinn in midfield, his ability to receive the ball, you know how he receives it with people on his back and then he plays off.”
“I thought Tielemans, he’s not a six, he doesn’t work hard enough to clear space to get the ball, he wanted to run forward which causes a problem then when the two centre-backs get the ball and they look up, there’s no one to play off.”
Emery needs to make changes at Aston Villa
Throughout the game, Villa consistently gave the ball away cheaply and struggled to create opportunities between the lines as they usually do.
Villa’s struggle in salvaging a point from the match may indicate that the manager should change his starting lineup before their match against Wolves.
Emery’s team sits in fourth position in the Premier League, three points ahead of Spurs having played one more game than them.
