Manager Geoff Stelling criticized Unai Emery for his split-second result during Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Cash leads Villa to victory over Man City
Emery continued his stellar run against Man City at home on Sunday, with the manager taking charge after Matty Cash’s first-half strike from outside the penalty area sparked a third successive win over Josep Guardiola’s side at Villa Park.
It was a fantastic performance from the full-back who was named player of the match and the Poland international has since put pen to paper on a new contract that runs until 2029.
The Villans have really turned the corner in recent weeks, with wins against several top teams, including a 2-1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, and they have moved up to eighth in the Premier League table, making them look more presentable.
Last month, the manager silenced talk of his future after it was reported that Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Martinez, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rodgers were unhappy with the Spaniard given his slow start to the season.
The 53-year-old has certainly turned a corner, but Stelling was still unimpressed with some of the decisions made on Sunday, insisting he made the decision to substitute Jadon Sancho in the second half, having just introduced the winger just before the half-hour mark.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Stelling defended Sancho, saying: “He’s a soft target because over the years it’s been easy to blame him. But in this case, I think it was wrong to blame him.”
Sancho’s Villa career is yet to take off.
Signing a 25-year-old was always a risk, given that he was unable to match his high price tag at Manchester United, and his Villa career was yet to begin, with him playing just 226 minutes in five games in all competitions.
Emery defended his decision to replace the former Man United man, pointing out he had done the same thing before with other players and wanted to introduce the English player slowly. “Certainly he (Sancho) is not happy, but he played 60 minutes on Thursday, as he did previously with Morgan Rodgers, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey.”
“Today, when he (Buendia) got injured, my plan might have been for him (Sancho) to play 30 minutes, but I decided to play more, so he played 45 minutes.”
However, given the amount of media attention Sancho received at Man United, it was a strange decision for Emery to risk undermining the confidence of his summer signing, even if the manager was unhappy with Sancho’s performance and did not replace him.