Howe refuses to blunt Lerma’s combative edge
Manager claims referees ‘are looking out for him’ Samatta goal gives Villa hope despite 2-1 defeat
The most predictable moment of the Premier League weekend came at 3.18 on Saturday afternoon, when
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish received the ball in a dangerous position in Bournemouth’s midfield. The Villa captain barely had time to look up before Jefferson Lerma, all malicious intent and thundering thighs, clattered into his knees.
Grealish winced, the yellow card came out, and not one person in Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium was surprised. This is what always happens to Grealish, and this is what Lerma always does.
Since arriving from Levante in the summer of 2018, the Colombia midfielder has picked up 21 yellow cards, more than any other player in the Premier League. He has the most this season, too – nine – and it was not long before he was shown a second, on Saturday, for another block on Villa captain Grealish, who has now been fouled 111 times this season, considerably more than any other player in the league. The meeting between him and the division’s most bookable player, then, was only ever going to end one way.
That said, the second yellow for Lerma certainly seemed a little unfair. If his first tackle was a yellow and a half, maybe the second was half a yellow. Everyone knows what he is like, though, and Eddie Howe believes referees are now on high alert whenever Lerma approaches an opposition player.
“I think some of the bookings this season have been very harsh,” the Bournemouth manager said.
“I think other players wouldn’t have ended up with the same punishment that he has. Unfortunately for Jeff he has put himself in that position and it is very difficult, I think, to change peoples’ opinions.
“I think referees are looking out for him. I thought against Villa, any other player committing that foul, that wouldn’t have been a yellow card in my opinion.”
Has Howe ever tried to calm Lerma down? “I was asked the same thing about Harry Arter all through his career,” Howe said. “How can you change a player when that is probably his biggest strength? How can you change him to be someone that he is not?
“You’re going to take away his main asset so we have to accept that he will be suspended from time to time. It is obviously not something we want – and we definitely don’t want him getting sent off in games because that kills us – but you cannot take away his strengths.”
Without Lerma for much of the second half, Bournemouth did well to hold on to the lead provided by Philip Billing and Nathan Ake in the first half. Mbwana Samatta struck for Villa, on his Premier League debut, but it was not enough to prevent Bournemouth securing a second consecutive league victory.
The result also moved Howe’s side one point clear of Villa in the relegation battle. Dean Smith’s team are one point outside the bottom three, although the goalscoring performance of Samatta, an £8.5million arrival from Genk, provides some hope. “He’s got qualities,” Smith said. “He’s certainly a goalscorer. That was one of our first headed goals all season. We don’t score too many of them. He’s good aerially, knows where the back of the net is and can stretch teams as well.
“He had 60 minutes on Tuesday against one of the best teams in the league in Leicester City and did really well. He blew up after 65 minutes in that and has managed 90 minutes here. He’ll get better and better.”