Thiago Motta got it wrong — Unai Emery was not “bluffing” when he said Aston Villa would take a point from the game against Juventus.
Motta arrived for Tuesday’s pre-match press conference in a suit and his arms glued to his side. He was expressionless for the most part, only breaking out into a smile when an Italian journalist relayed Emery’s comments from earlier in the day, when Villa’s manager insisted “taking a point is good”.
“I will watch it to see if he is bluffing,” said Motta.
As it turned out, Emery’s blueprint in the 0-0 draw was underpinned by a desire to maintain control and — in another card he would remove from his chest at his press conference — to make “short passes” to avoid transition-based scenarios and generally harden a creaking defence that has kept one clean sheet in 12 Premier League matches.
When Villa Park urged players to attack quicker, Emery signalled for composure. He set up his team in a way that increased the chances of a draw, despite late misfortune at the end stopping them from getting all three points, with Diego Carlos judged to have fouled Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio before Morgan Rogers’ disallowed ‘goal’ at the death.
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: Aston Villa 0 Juventus 0: Last-minute VAR drama, Kamara’s return and Weah’s central role
Pau Torres spoke about Villa improving their “rest defending” — a tactical execution that enables a good transition from being in possession to counter-pressing, ensuring Villa can apply immediate pressure. In other words, giving solidity to Villa’s attacking and defensive phases of play.
It had felt jarring that Boubacar Kamara — Emery’s best exponent of applying rest defence — ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while counter-pressing Manchester United midfielder Casemiro in February. Kamara’s eight-month absence created a vacuum in central midfield and drew a direct correlation to Villa’s downturn in form.
The France international exudes subtly and quiet control. Emery believes Kamara has made significant strides, improving his qualities in possession and becoming more press-resistant. Before his injury, Kamara was on some of Europe’s top clubs’ recruitment shortlists when searching for a deep-lying midfielder.
“He’s very good defensively but he’s increasing a lot offensively with the ball, keeping possession and trying to connect with his team-mates with key passes forward,” Emery said in January. “I’m very happy — when I am speaking with different people around football and about our players, one of them having a good impact is Kamara.”
Emery calling for more from his team against Juventus (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Fatigue and fixture congestion played a part as Villa stumbled over the finishing line when earning a top-four finish last season. The most tangible factor, though, was Kamara’s unavailability, illuminated in form trending in the wrong direction. Before Kamara’s ACL injury, Villa were fourth in the underlying metric of expected points (xPTS) — based on goal chances determining which team is more likely to win a match. After he was ruled out, Villa plummeted to 15th in xPTS.
Team-mates suffered as a consequence, namely his midfield partner Douglas Luiz, who has since joined Wednesday’s opponents. The Brazillian toiled in covering Kamara’s deeper role alone, contributing the belief he was the most expendable asset that could ease profit and sustainability (PSR) concerns.
Central midfield is now among Villa’s stronger areas, yet no player can replicate Kamara’s qualities. It was why his return in October was met with enormous relief, with immediate performance levels impressive, considering the prolonged lay-off. As is often par for the course when coming back from a long-term injury, other consequential strains occurred and before the international break, Kamara, 25, suffered a grade-one hamstring pull.
It made his inclusion against Juventus surprising and equally revealing how critical he is for Emery’s pursuit of control and possessional patience. He started alongside Youri Tielemans and at Emery’s request, offered reliability on the ball with an increased volume of short passes and extra touches — shown in his delayed slide ball into Ollie Watkins, which resulted in Villa’s first shot — and in counter-attacking opportunities, playing forward quickly with longer passes, as the blue below arrows highlight.
All of Kamara’s passes against Juventus
“He’s very important,” said Emery. “He’s come back because, as a No 6, he gives us a lot of balance, in defence and offence. He progressed a lot last year, before his injury with the ball and was playing with confidence in our build-up. He has big potential.”
In some ways, referee Jesus Gil Manzano offered a precursor to the controversial ending in the 10th minute, when Tielemans was booked. With a referee boasting a penchant for theatrics and Tielemans playing in the most combative area of the pitch, the yellow card magnified Kamara’s defensive responsibilities.
He was tasked with snapping at the heels of Khephren Thuram whenever Juventus played the ball into midfield, which served as Villa’s trigger to press. Still, Villa limited Juventus to few entries into the final third in the opening stages, despite ceding 72 per cent of possession in the first 20 minutes.
A high-performing No 6 is arguably the hardest role in modern football. It is in the in-vogue position, with most build-up patterns gravitating around the No 6 and for Emery’s ever-intensifying yearning to control as much of a game as possible, having a player who is constantly mindful of where to be in case a move breaks down is paramount. When Villa had their first corner — in light of recent issues — it was Kamara who ensured two other players stayed on the outside of the box and slightly deeper.
In the second half, Kamara remained watchful in his positioning and anticipated a nascent counter-attack, tackling Thuram. Gradually, Villa exerted control and more than doubled their possession. With Kamara anchoring central areas, team-mates could move, and stay, in forward areas.
Those finer, sometimes intangible details within Kamara’s game — be it an extra touch or a short, safe pass — help exert control in games and allow Emery to create a methodical build-up structure… just as he promised before the Juventus tie.
(Top photo: Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
