The Media Review: Aston Villa

There was a distinct World Cup flavour to some of the reports of Albion’s 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa – whether that was the central roles plated by some South American players bound for Qatar or the goals scored by a player who has fallen off the England radar in Villa’s Danny Ings.

Neil McLeman of The Mirror wrote that “Argentina had not wanted any of their World Cup stars playing in this final round of Premier League matches and Emi Martinez’s shaky performance perhaps showed why.

“The Villa keeper’s poor pass to Douglas Luiz saw Alexis Mac Allister bundle the Brazilian out of the way and fired home Brighton’s quickest every Premier League goal after 51 seconds. The Brighton No.10, whose Celtic ancestors emigrated to Argentina, is maybe the closest the Scots and Irish will have to a player in Qatar.”

Jack Rosser of The Sun also noted the Argentine connection. “Alexis Mac Allister had given the Seagulls the lead after just 49 seconds thanks to a mistake from Argentina team-mate, Emiliano Martinez,” he wrote.

“Roberto De Zerbi’s side went into their final game before the break looking for a third consecutive win to ensure they spent Christmas safely in the top six. And they made the best start possible thanks to Mac Allister.

“Brighton’s own Argentine No10, who will be lining up alongside Lionel Messi in just over a week, set the tone from the off – muscling Douglas Luiz off the ball as he tried to receive a dodgy ball from goalkeeper Martinez.

“Luiz was barged aside surprisingly easily, before Mac Allister bent his fifth Prem goal of the season past his embarrassed international teammate.”

After Ings’ equaliser from the penalty spot, according to the Daily Telegraph, “Brighton continued to stretch Villa with high-speed and, at times, high-risk attacks, in which Pascal Gross, nominally the right back, popped up in an advanced midfield role and midfielder Moises Caicedo was often the last defender.

“It was often panic stations in the Villa rearguard as Brighton pressed, but the visitors stayed in the game and went ahead after 53 minutes. After that, the flurry of bookings accurately reflect the way Villa dug in, and without Kaoru Mitoma through illness and with Adam Lallana limping off after only four minutes, Brighton lacked the trickery to get through.”

The i also noted that “De Zerbi’s Brighton move the ball more quickly than under Potter but they take risks, which is largely as advertised from his tenure at Sassuolo in Italy, their willingness to receive the ball under pressure and intricate passing at pace inviting interception. Yesterday they opened the scoring through ambitious pressing of their own, conceded a penalty when too open and were caught in possession before Danny Ings put Villa ahead. 

“After that, the game assumed the normal shape of Brighton home games against teams that sit deep, their neat attacks breaking against a wall of defenders. “

But Adrian Kajumba of The Daily Mail was aware of what might have been. “Brighton’s quickest ever Premier League goal from Alexis Mac Allister gave Brighton a perfect start as they went in search of the victory that would have left them in the top six at Christmas, which would have been an all-time high.

“Brighton could consider themselves unfortunate having started and finished the stronger and also had a big second-half penalty shout ignored despite a VAR review after Lucas Digne’s hefty challenge on Solly March.

“March pounced on a loose touch from Digne and got to the ball first before being wiped out by the Frenchman who was already mid-swing with his attempted clearance as the Brighton winger moved in. Somehow the officials saw no offence, though the Villa bookings and timewasting racked up as the final whistle drew nearer.”

But as we enter the extended mid-season break, there were reasons to be cheerful. “Roberto De Zerbi has praised his players for absorbing his style of coaching but essentially, he inherited a well drilled, confident team that have carried on where Graham Potter left off when he joined Chelsea in September,” wrote Alyson Rudd in The Times, adding: “That he likes to micromanage was in evidence as he sat in the dugout just before the second half began, enthusiastically moving multi- coloured discs around a portable magnetic board for the mesmerized Joel Veltman who later came off the bench.”

And Sam Dalling also struck a positive note in The Guardian. “For Brighton, in defeat there was still entertainment,” he wrote. “Under Graham Potter, there were frequently empty pockets of seats at the Amex. At times, value for money was poor. But Roberto De Zerbi has already brought a zest for organised chaos. They will score more, they will concede more, and the Italian will orchestrate it all energetically from within (and frequently from outside) his technical area.

“Brighton should be heartened by the fact their model seems to be holding firm under strain, by heading into the break seventh, and by there not being a spare chair going. ‘I don’t think we deserved to lose,’ said De Zerbi. ‘I am not happy with this result but I’m happy because this has been a very important period. I said ‘thanks’ to my players after the game. They have been fantastic with me and my staff. I want them to restart the season with the same energy, the same passion and attitude’.”