Whatever the Euskara for hoodoo is, Unai Emery still holds it over Andoni Iraola. This one got away from the younger Basque, who is yet to prevail over Emery. With Aston Villa’s hopes of an unlikely Premier League title faded, their priority is now to protect the Champions League place that eluded them last season. Villa took a point they should be grateful for. Not for the first time. Iraola could wonder how a team that creates so many chances failed to kill off their opposition.
By half-time, 13 shots had rained on Emiliano Martínez’s goal to Villa’s two, a similar pattern following after the break. Emery’s team still took the lead through Morgan Rogers’s brilliant finish. Rayan’s second-half equaliser was no less impressive, a solo goal to further the hype surrounding the young Brazilian, and Bournemouth’s deal-making prowess. An eye-catching cameo at Wolves had forced Iraola’s hand into starting Rayan on the right of an attack full of youthful zest. The Vitality Stadium has a teenage hero to make fans forget Antoine Semenyo.
Continue reading…Whatever the Euskara for hoodoo is, Unai Emery still holds it over Andoni Iraola. This one got away from the younger Basque, who is yet to prevail over Emery. With Aston Villa’s hopes of an unlikely Premier League title faded, their priority is now to protect the Champions League place that eluded them last season. Villa took a point they should be grateful for. Not for the first time. Iraola could wonder how a team that creates so many chances failed to kill off their opposition.By half-time, 13 shots had rained on Emiliano Martínez’s goal to Villa’s two, a similar pattern following after the break. Emery’s team still took the lead through Morgan Rogers’s brilliant finish. Rayan’s second-half equaliser was no less impressive, a solo goal to further the hype surrounding the young Brazilian, and Bournemouth’s deal-making prowess. An eye-catching cameo at Wolves had forced Iraola’s hand into starting Rayan on the right of an attack full of youthful zest. The Vitality Stadium has a teenage hero to make fans forget Antoine Semenyo. Continue reading…
