After winning three out of three in the Champions League this season, Aston Villa were brought crashing back down to earth against Spanish giants Barcelona last night.
Unai Emery’s men suffered a 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp, with the Villans only able to register a solitary shot on target during the humbling encounter.
Despite the scoreline, the experience will have been an unforgettable one for the supporters, with the meeting highlighting how far the club have come in recent years.
How Aston Villa stuttered to defeat against Barcelona
Securing anything against Barcelona at the Nou Camp was always going to be a tricky task for Villa, but the difference in quality was a lot bigger than many anticipated on Tuesday night.
Emery’s men made the worst possible start just seven minutes into the encounter, as a loose pass saw Ballon d’Or third-place man Lamine Yamal capitalise and fire home.
The Villans would hold out for just shy of 50 minutes before conceding their second goal of the encounter, as danger man Raphinha netted his third Champions League goal of the campaign.
Three would quickly become four for the Brazilian, as he found himself on the end of an inch-perfect cross from Joao Cancelo to slot home past the helpless Zion Suzuki.
From there on in, it was a case of avoiding an embarrassing scoreline for Emery’s men, as his side failed to register a single shot on target during the second half.
How Gomes failed to deliver against Barcelona
After being dropped to the bench for Saturday’s clash with Fulham, Emery decided to hand a recall to the starting eleven to Villa midfielder Joao Gomes against Barcelona.
However, such a decision appeared to be the wrong one by the Spaniard, with the Brazilian unable to deliver the goods during the meeting with the LaLiga leaders.
The 25-year-old was the player responsible for the misplaced pass across his own box in the first seven minutes and handed Yamal an easy opportunity to secure an early advantage.
Despite his early mistake, Gomes was unable to improve throughout the encounter, with the midfielder only able to complete a total of 14 passes during the defeat.
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Joao Gomes – stats against Barcelona |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Tally |
|
Minutes played |
62 |
|
Touches |
25 |
|
Pass accuracy |
80% |
|
Errors leading to goal |
1 |
|
Chances created |
0 |
|
Passes into final third |
2 |
|
Blocks made |
0 |
|
Aerials won |
0 |
Only 14% of his efforts to pick out a teammate were made into the final third, which no doubt played a role in the Villans’ inability to create any clear-cut chances in front of goal.
Aston Villa star was worse than Gomes vs Barcelona
On the whole, it was undoubtedly a disappointing night for Emery’s men, with too many of his key operators delivering performances that were way below their usual standards.
The difference in quality between the two sides certainly played a part, but the effort that usually makes Villa hard to break down was lacking at the Nou Camp.
Attacker Emi Buendia has gained a reputation for his tireless work during his time in the West Midlands, but his showing last night was far from the high standards he’s set for himself.
The Argentine was selected to start on the left-hand side of the attack, but like his previous start against Bournemouth, he struggled to provide any real quality within forward areas.
He only managed to complete a measly tally of just six passes against the Spanish giants, with the forward only managing to achieve a pass completion rate of 67%.
As a result, he gifted possession back to the hosts on seven separate occasion – resulting in the 29-year-old giving the ball to the opposition more than his own teammates.
Buendia was unable to complete any of the dribbles he attempted, whilst only completing 33% of his crosses – further highlighting his lack of impact in attacking areas.
His threat was certainly nullified on Tuesday night, as the former Norwich City man only registered 22 touches of the ball – a tally fewer than goalkeeper Suzuki, who achieved a figure of 47.
Such a disappointing performance was summed up by his needless booking in the 31st minute after upending Barcelona star Fermin Lopez in an attempt to stop a counter-attack.
As a result, Emery must desperately axe Buendia from his starting eleven ahead of the club’s next outing, with such a showing opening the door for other attackers to stake their claim for a start.
He and Gomes will undoubtedly want to forget such a showing as quickly as possible, with the aforementioned pair undeniably the worst performers on Tuesday night.
