Amadou Onana played a key role in Aston Villa’s win over Manchester City at Villa Park.
Villa triumphed against Man City at home to claim all three points in the Premier League after winning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week.
Victory against the Citizens was the perfect response from Unai Emery after Villa’s shock defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in the UEFA Europa League.
Emi Buendia was spotted on crutches outside Villa Park, which was one of the few downsides on Sunday. However, Onana’s performance will be one to remember.
Amadou Onana turned in a sensational defensive performance vs Man City
Onana was tipped to become a player revived under Emery, and he continues to prove that with each passing week.
The midfielder helped to keep City’s impressive attack quiet on Sunday after winning six out of seven ground duels throughout the 90 minutes, according to Sofascore.
- Onana won two out of three tackles
- He made three clearances and one interception
- The Belgium international was not dribbled past once
The fact that he blocked four shots against City comes as no surprise; there were moments where it seemed like there were two of him on the pitch.
Indeed, his defensive output was so great that he even outperformed his centre-backs.
- Pau Torres failed to win a single ground duel
- He only blocked two shots
- Ezri Konsa won just two out of five aerial duels and one ground duel
It was a complete performance from beginning to end, where he completed 95 per cent of his passes, and 50 per cent of his long balls were accurate.
Given that Man City generated an xG of 1.18 and created two big chances, Onana, along with goalscorer Matty Cash, were undoubtedly Emery’s two most important players against the Citizens.
- Read more: Martin Keown raves about ‘Wonderful’ Aston Villa midfield star after what he did vs Go Ahead Eagles
Amadou Onana will need to be at his best for Aston Villa
Villa have a difficult run of fixtures in the Premier League over the coming months
Onana’s heroics may have kept Erling Haaland from scoring on Sunday, but the Villans are set to face several strong attacking sides.
Indeed, Villa’s next game is against Liverpool at Anfield, and while they have been uninspiring this season, the Reds have several players who could cause trouble, notably Hugo Ekitike.
After that, the second city outfit will take on Bournemouth, Brighton and Arsenal, while Leeds United and Wolves could also pose a challenge regardless of their league position.
As a result, Emery’s side will need to be defensively solid at the back and in the midfield. As such, hopes will rest on Onana to ensure that Villa’s backline gets the support it needs to withstand the heightened attacking intensity that they’re likely to face.
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