Villa have not played with the same sense of control since Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus in the summer.
The statistics confirm this.
Comparing this season to last, Villa’s average possession in the Premier League has fallen from 52.8% to 50.5% in the first quarter of the season, while the number of completed passes and progressive passes have also decreased.
The domino effect is twofold.
Villa plays a little deeper and less assertively, such as in draws with Manchester United and Bournemouth. They have also taken part in matches that were less compressed, creating space between the lines, hence the wildness of the defeat to Tottenham or the 2-2 draw against Ipswich.
Luiz and Boubacar Kamara, the partnership that led Villa to 46 points from the opening 23 league games of last season, has been replaced by Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans.
Both have played well, but the change in style affects Villa’s ability to control games.
Onana has been less involved than Kamara, averaging 40 passes per 90 minutes this season compared to Kamara’s 55.6 per 90 last season, although the swap of Luiz for Tielemans has proven to be the bigger problem.
Tielemans and Luiz may attempt a similar number of passes, but Tielemans’ are more vertical and direct, which explains why Villa’s possession has dropped.
For a clearer example of this difference – of how Tielemans’ style makes Villa more expansive, leaving them vulnerable to disjointed passing or end-to-end play – take a look at a typical passing chart for both players below:
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