Nicolo Zaniolo earns a starting spot for Aston Villa after an outstanding cameo against Liverpool.
Aston Villa arrived at Anfield on Sunday (3 September) in good spirits, riding a four-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.
But they were thrown back to earth as early as the third minute as Liverpool took the lead due to a magnificent shot from Dominik Szoboszlai.
Just 19 minutes later, full-back Matty Cash put the ball into his own net, compounding the visitors’ woes.
Mohamed Salah added a third in the 55th minute to condemn Villa to their second defeat of the season, following their loss to Newcastle United on the opening day.
There won’t be many reasons for Emery to be happy following the loss to Liverpool, but there is one in the form of summer signing Nicolo Zaniolo.
Despite being given only 25 minutes from the bench in his second appearance for the club following his loan move from Galatasaray, the 24-year-old did more than his attacking counterparts on the day.
During that moment, the Italian showed his ability on both sides of the pitch, which would have pleased his management on an otherwise awful day at work.
According to SofaScore, Zaniolo completed six of his eight passes, won three of his five duels, dribbled successfully once, and made one vital pass.
Furthermore, the attacker made two tackles, one interception, and one clearance, outperforming fellow Aston Villa substitutes Youri Tielemans and Jhon Duran in this category.
Despite playing for only 18 and 17 minutes, respectively, the duo only made one tackle, courtesy of midfielder Tielemans, and had no interceptions or clearances.
After the international break, Zaniolo could force his way into the starting lineup.
In other Aston Villa news, player ratings have emerged following the team’s 3-0 loss to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
