Jadon Sancho started for Aston Villa against Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday.
Villa tasted defeat away to Go Ahead Eagles, with their winning run in the Europa League coming to an abrupt end with a 2-1 loss on 23 October.
Summer signing from OGC Nice, Evann Guessand, netted his first goal for the Villans before Mathis Suray grabbed a late equaliser in the first half.
Mats Deijl grabbed the eventual winner in Deventer, but not after Villa’s in-form star Emi Buendia lifted a penalty over the bar with 10 minutes to go.
There was plenty of frustration on show surrounding Unai Emery’s side, but the Spaniard did confuse supporters with his treatment of Sancho.
Jadon Sancho taken off early vs Go Ahead Eagles
Harvey Elliott was unused against Go Ahead Eagles as the treatment of a deadline day signing continues to baffle supporters.
That has been the case for the Manchester United loanee, Sancho, too, in recent weeks, who has missed out through illness.
The Englishman came in from the start in the Netherlands and looked promising as he was able to maintain a 91 per cent pass accuracy and create one big chance.
Sancho also got two shots off, but one was blocked, while Jari De Busser saved the other in the home side’s goal.
The wideman also chipped in with one recovery and three successful duels as he continued to pose a threat down the left.
It was a shock that Emery opted to take him off at 2-1 down, as the Spaniard made four changes with over 20 minutes to go.
Former Villa defender Martin Keown was confused by the decision, speaking out via TNT Sports 1 on 23 October.
He said that he was “surprised to see Sancho go off“.
This summed up the general feeling of the travelling fans who were pleased with what they had seen from the loanee.
Why did Sancho come off instead of Evann Guessand for Aston Villa?
Guessand may have got on the scoresheet against the Dutch outfit, but this was the only plus point on an otherwise dismal performance.
The 24-year-old completed just 67 per cent of his attempted passes and zero per cent of his attempted dribbles on the night.
Not only did the Ivorian miss a big chance, but he was also dispossessed twice, which was a quality indicative of his performance.
These stats don’t lie, as Guessand also failed the eye test in what was a clunky performance on the right-hand side.
It is difficult to understand why Sancho would be taken off instead of the ex-OGC Nice man when chasing a result away from home.
Emery may have been looking out for his match fitness, but that shouldn’t come into the equation when a defeat is staring you in the face.
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The post View: Emery to blame as ex-Aston Villa man 'surprised' by call on 80% star vs Go Ahead Eagles appeared first on Villa News.
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