Former Aston Villa forward Stan Collymore has emphasized the importance of a solid defensive performance as Aston Villa prepare to face Bayern Munich in their UEFA Champions League clash. Prior to this game, Bayern Munich won their first Champions League game of the season defeating Dinamo Zagreb by 9 goals to 2. Unai Emery’s side was also victorious as they secured a comfortable 3:0 win over Young Boys in their UCL Opener.
Aston Villa’s Recent Defensive Struggles
Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, Collymore shared his perspective on Aston Villa’s recent defensive struggles, having conceded two goals in each of their last two games against Everton and newly promoted side, Ipswich Town
Collymore recalled Aston Villa’s strong defensive displays last season in the Premier League where they secured consecutive 1-0 victories over Pep Guardiola’s side, Manchester City, and Arsenal. He stressed that if Villa hopes to get a result against Bayern Munich, a clean sheet will be crucial. A solid defensive performance was evident against the reigning Premier League Champions, Manchester City, and the Gunners last season. Leon Bailey scored a late goal against Manchester City while John McGinn’s scored an early goal against Arsenal.
“Last year, we were keeping clean sheets and winning games. I remember two games that went back-to-back. We beat Manchester City and we beat Arsenal, both one 1:0. Really good attacking performances, but really good defensive performances. In our last two games, we conceded two against Everton, two against Ipswich.” He said.
Aston Villa striker, Ollie Watkins scored twice and Jhon Duran came from the bench to score the winning goal as Aston Villa mounted an impressive comeback to beat Everton 3-2 at Villa Park, overturning a two-goal deficit. Against Ipswich Town, Unai Emery’s side had to settle for a 2-2 draw. A late second-half goal from Liam Delap denied them victory and left them with just a point.
Aston Villa Defensive Line Faces Criticism
Collymore also pointed out that Diego Carlos has faced criticism for his performances in central defense. He also mentioned the challenge of replacing Ezri Konsa at right-back, should he be shifted to the center. Despite the defensive issues, Collymore believes that with a clean sheet, Aston Villa could earn at least a point from the match against Vincent Kompany’s side.
We’re conceding goals, Diego Carlos in particular has come up with a little bit of criticism in the eighth side of central defense. A lot of people would hope Ezri Konsa gets to play there but then it would leave us a bit of a hole at right back, so I think tonight, if Villa’s going to get anything from the game, we have to keep a clean sheet,” He added.
Stan Collymore, who scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in 58 appearances for Aston Villa, has also represented Liverpool and Nottingham Forest during his playing career.
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