As bad as Rogers: Emery must axe 4/10 Aston Villa man who lost the ball 16x

Aston Villa’s terrible form continued with a 0-0 draw at Villa Park against Juventus on Wednesday night. Unai Emery’s team suffered misery at the end, with a late goal called off. The Villans are currently without a win in seven games, as their worrisome streak continues.

 

Morgan Rogers’ strike was ruled out just before the final whistle. Michele Di Gregorio, the Juventus goalie, dropped Youri Tielemans’ free kick. Rogers simply picked up the loose ball and blasted home, believing he had won it for the Villans. However, following a VAR review, Diego Carlos was found to have fouled the Juve shot stopper, and the goal was disallowed.

Statistically, both sides were roughly equal. According to Sofascore, the Old Lady had a modest advantage in possession, 56% to 44% for the home side. The Villans had 11 shots compared to Juve’s eight, resulting in a higher projected goals total of 1.23xG to 0.44xG.

It was a disappointing night for the Villans, who were keen to break their poor run of form and believed they had done so before VAR intervened. Claret and Blue players delivered several dismal performances, with Rogers among them.

Rogers’ stats vs. Juventus

Perhaps it is no accident that Villa’s dismal form has coincided with Rogers’ difficult period. He has been a talismanic figure under Emery this season, but he has only scored once during Villa’s losing streak.
The attacking midfielder had another torrid night against Juventus. Against a well-drilled Juve team coached by Thiago Motta, he had limited freedom to get on the ball and had little impact on the game.

The England international, who made his senior debut this month, received a post-match rating of 4/10 from GOAL journalist Harry Sherlock. He stated that the attacker’struggled against Juve’s physicality in midfield’, but praised his effort, saying he ‘kept grinding away’ against the Old Lady.

Indeed, the Manchester City academy graduate did not have the finest stats in the game. He had 48 touches, completed 75% of his passes, and lost the ball 19 times. Off the ball, Villa’s number 27 won just two of 10 ground duels.

Rogers was not the only Villa attacker who struggled against the Old Lady; Leon Bailey also had a terrible night.

Leon Bailey’s stats vs. Juventus

Bailey, like his fellow forward Rogers, had a very frustrating game against Juventus. He also struggled to have an offensive influence on the game, despite putting forth his best effort.
Again, Motta’s well-drilled defensive setup prevented Bailey from having much of an impact in the final third, and despite his persistence, there was simply no way past such a strong Juve defence. The winger was also sloppy in possession at times.

His game stats surely reflect the Jamaican’s terrible night. He had 43 touches on the ball and a pass accuracy of 70%. The former Bayer Leverkusen player lost the ball 16 times and finished only two of four dribbles. The winger did not have a particularly easy night.

Bailey stats vs. Juventus

Stat

Number

Pass accuracy

70%

Touches

43

Passes completed.

16/23

Number of times possession was lost

16

Ground duels won.

5/11

Dribbles completed.

2/4

Tackles won.

0/1

Statistics from Sofascore

Sherlock also gave him a 4/10 grade for his performance against Turin. The journalist added that despite his best efforts to break the Juve defence, Bailey simply ‘couldn’t get beyond them’.

It was another difficult evening for the Villans, who now face a daunting task at Stamford Bridge against high-flying Chelsea as they desperately seek a win to end their dreadful run.

Based on his performance yesterday, Bailey should be one of the substitutes for the journey to west London.

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