Aston Villa were eliminated from the Carabao Cup last night, suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. Unai Emery’s side, who are still competing in three competitions this season, might well be frustrated that a good chance to win some silverware has evaded them after the loss at Villa Park.
The Villans were very much the dominant side, as the post-match statistics, courtesy of Sofascore, suggest. Emery’s team had more possession than the Eagles, with 62% of the ball, and far more shots, 17 to the opposition’s ten, with nine on target.
With that in mind, it might be frustrating that they could not capitalise on such domination. Oliver Glasner’s side took the lead through Eberechi Eze, who scored something of a poacher’s goal, losing his marker in the penalty box and heading home from 12 yards.
Villa equalised 15 minutes later, through the in-form Jhon Duran, who took his goal brilliantly, swivelling as he shot and firing home into the bottom left corner. Palace’s winner in the 64th minute was a gift, with Diego Carlos giving it straight to Daichi Kamada whose shot from outside of the penalty box nestled into Joe Guaci’s goal.
It was a frustrating night at Villa Park, with Carlos amongst those in Claret and Blue who struggled.
Carlos’ stats vs. Palace
After a slow start to the season, the Brazilian centre-back has finally managed to break into Emery’s starting lineup of late. However, Jacob Tanswell, Villa writer for The Athletic, explained he had a “poor night” after what had been a “very good October” so far.
Indeed, the Villa number three made a very frustrating mistake for Kamada’s winning goal. Pressed by striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta, he played a sloppy pass right into the path of the Japan international. It was a well-taken goal from range, but not a mistake you would expect from an experienced head like Carlos.
Aside from that, his stats from the game were commendable. Carlos had 73 touches of the ball and completed 91% of his passes. He also won four from five ground duels and all three of his tackles. However, he gave the ball away six times, including once for the costly error that led to the Palace winner.
As frustrating as Carlos’ performance was against the Eagles, Emiliano Buendia’s showing was arguably more disappointing.
Buendia’s stats vs. Palace
It has been a long road to recovery for Bunedia since his awful anterior cruciate ligament injury in August 2023. Now fully back in action, the attacking midfielder made his first Villa Park start since returning from injury last night.
However, it was not quite the performance he would have hoped for. The Argentine midfielder struggled to make a real impact on the game, although did have some moments of quality on the ball.
His stats from the game showed that it was a tough night at the office. The 27-year-old completed 88% of his passes but managed just 39 touches, losing the ball 11 times. He created just one chance and only completed 33% of his dribbles. Out of possession, the midfielder lost a disappointing 11 duels.
Stat
Number
Touches
39
Pass accuracy
88%
Passes completed
22/25
Ground duels won
2/13
Number of times possession lost
11
Dribbles completed
1/3
Chances created
1
It was a performance that earned him a 6/10 rating from Birmingham Mail journalist John Townley. With that being said, the Villa correspondent credited him for looking ‘comfortable taking the ball in tight pockets’, a key feature of the Villa number 10’s game.
It was certainly a frustrating night at the office for Buendia, who surely would have been hoping for a more impactful performance on his first Villa Park start for well over a year. With that being said, it is something to build on, with the games now coming thick and fast for the Villans.
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