Aston Villa’s wait for a trophy goes on after their EFL Cup exit to Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.
It was pretty clear from Unai Emery’s team selection that the League Cup is far down Aston Villa’s pecking order this season, even if fans think otherwise.
Villa haven’t won a trophy since 1996, so this was an ample chance of progressing to the quarter-finals and using this feel-good factor currently around the club to go to the next level.
There was a mix of some big hitters and returning injured stars playing against Palace.
Tyrone Mings’ return to the Villa XI was positive, with the likes of Jhon Duran, Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey and Diego Carlos earning starts.
These players were on the bench during Villa’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth over the weekend, but hardly any of them knocked the door down.
Unai Emery admits Leon Bailey’s levels have dropped for Aston Villa
Bailey was a key player in Villa reaching the Champions League last season, but his form has gone out of the window this time around.
You wonder if there are other reasons behind that because, at the start of the campaign, Emery shared that Bailey was carrying an injury.
But he is still playing and starting, and to put it simply, not performing or looking like the same player as last season.
Emery was pretty honest in his assessment of Bailey after the Palace loss and how he ‘still has work to do’, as posted by Jacob Tanswell on Twitter.
“There’s still work to do with Leon Bailey to get to the same level as last year,” shared Emery.
“With Jaden, he needs minutes to get confident. McGinn and Maatsen played well. Kosta needs minutes to get experience. After my analysis, I am going to see how we can improve with them.”
Bailey’s stats for Villa against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup
https://x.com/j_tanswell/status/1851750475105788122?s=46
Villa need Bailey back on song because it means more wins for the team and points on the board.
Thankfully, there is enough competition within the squad to drop him to the bench. Jaden Philogene has started well at Villa following his summer return.
But, against Palace, WhoScored rated Bailey’s performance at 6.80, with zero dribbles from the player and a passing accuracy of 70%.
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