Aston Villa took another huge step towards the Champions League next season with an excellent win over Bournemouth at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side came from behind to claim all three points against the Cherries on Sunday (21 April) thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey to move six points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham.
The win over Andoni Iraloa’s side capped off an excellent week following an important Europa Conference League victory over Lille, but Villa were handed a new injury blow as Nicolo Zaniolo was substituted early on in France.
Sharing an update on the Italian’s fitness, Emery was quoted by Birmingham Live (23 April) saying: “He has an injury but we have to wait how long it’s going to be. Hopefully, it’s not a lot.”
Is Nicolo Zaniolo injured for Aston Villa ahead of Chelsea clash?
Zaniolo has been far from perfect in his Villa career so far, but the Italian showed just how good he can be in the Villans’ win over Arsenal. The 24-year-old completed 70 per cent of his 23 attempted passes, according to Fotmob.
Three of those efforts found a teammate in claret and blue in the final third as the Italian international had a major impact in the final third, creating a single goal-scoring chance with an excellent ball into the penalty area.There were still a couple of sloppy moments from the midfielder in possession as he was dispossessed twice and only managed to complete 29 per cent of his seven attempted dribbles, but he very rarely lost possession in his own half.
Without the ball the Galatasaray loanee worked incredibly hard, winning 50 per cent of his attempted tackles registering an impressive two ball recoveries as he refused to let the Gunners’ full-backs relax in possession.
Zaniolo entered a remarkable 14 ground duels in his 80 minutes of action, more than any other player in the Aston Villa midfield and won 100 per cent of his aerial battles as he showed that he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
When compared to other attacking midfielders in the Premier League this season, the Villa loanee places in the 86th percentile of his positional peers for tackles made per 90 minutes, with an average of 2.07, according to Fbref.
Most of those challenges come in the defensive third as the 240-year-old is more than willing to work back to assist his fullback. This term, Zaniolo places in the top four per cent of his peers for tackles made in the final third per game.
Will Villa qualify for the Champions League ahead of Tottenham under Unai Emery?
Villa are in the driving seat in the race for the Champions League now, but they need their best players to stay fit and available for the final weeks of the season to confirm their place in the Premier League’s top four.
