Good Luiz ers
EMERY BUILDING FOR BRIGHT FUTURE By Graham Thomas
FROM his two goalkeepers on the bench policy to his thick black gilet on a mild Midlands afternoon, Unai Emery is proving to be a man with plenty in reserve.
His Aston Villa side are starting to hint at untapped depths too as they recorded their third victory in four unbeaten games without really getting out of third gear.
They were helped by a Bournemouth side who never cranked it up themselves, even though they had 73 minutes to respond between Douglas Luiz’s early goal and the clincher from Jacob Ramsey.
By the time Emiliano Buendia headed in the third, the Cherries had been picked off.
Emery’s Villa are not quite threatening the clubs jostling for Europe but they are back on an upward curve.
Their unbeaten surge followed three successive defeats last month and suggests they can be a force next season – with reinforcements to a squad undermined by injuries.
Since Emery took charge, Villa have taken 26 points from 14 games. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United managed more.
The raggedness at the back is sometimes still there, but in Douglas Luiz and Buendia they have a creative platform to launch the pace of the impressive Ramsey and Leon Bailey.
Luiz had a hand in both goals after his opener and the Brazillian earned rich praise from his manager.
“I am very happy with Douglas Luiz,” said Emery. “His character in this squad is very important and necessary in this team. Overall this was his best performance for us. He is strong within the structure we are creating.” Emery was also energised by the rapport he feels is building between his team and Villa’s success-starved fans.
“The last 10 minutes was when we connected with our supporters and we felt very good. We have to connect with them for 90 minutes and be passionate in that,” he said.
For Bournemouth, this was a third defeat in four games and a worrying two steps back for supporters whose survival hopes were revived a week ago with a spirited victory over Liverpool.
It might have been different if Dominic Solanke hadn’t dithered over an opportunity in the 72nd minute but manager Gary O’neil must have wondered where the passionate survival-lust of seven days before had gone. He admitted: “I am really disappointed. We weren’t clinical enough and didn’t take our opportunities. At 1-0 I felt we were right in the game.”
A boost for O’neil was a first appearance for substitute David Brooks (above) since being diagnosed with cancer in 2021.
Ollie Watkins’ shot skewed off a defender early on, enabling Bailey to tee-up Luiz for the opening goal.
Luiz’s free-kick opened the space for Ramsey to make it two before the Brazilian’s corner was flicked on by Tyrone Mings for Buendia to score.
ASTON VILLA: Martinez 8; Cash 7, Konsa 6, Mings 7, Moreno Lopera 7; Mcginn 6 (Chambers (90) 5), Douglas Luiz 8; Bailey 6 (Traore (65) 6), Buendia 6 (Duran (90) 6), Ramsey 7; Watkins 7 BOURNEMOUTH: Neto 7; A Smith 5 (Brooks (79) 6), Stephens 5, Senesi 6, Kelly 6; Ouattara 6 (Vina (90) 6), Rothwell 5 (Traore (59) 6), Lerma 6, Anthony 5 (Semenyo (59) 6); Billing 6 (Moore (90) 6); Solanke 5 STAR MAN: Douglas Luiz – Calm, creative and crafted setpiece delivery from midfield hub. REF: Robert Jones 7