Aston Villa man branded 'an issue' as Unai Emery mistake highlighted

Liam Delap of Ipswich Town is challenged by Diego Carlos of Aston Villa
-Credit: (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)


Ex-Aston Villa forward Stan Collymore lamented Unai Emery's team's lack of 'usual high tempo' in their 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town, also calling central defender Diego Carlos 'an issue'.

The fixtures have been coming thick and fast for Villa in this latest stint of the season, and perhaps yesterday's Premier League trip to Portman Road so soon before welcoming Bayern Munich and Champions League football to Villa Park proved to be too much.

They were pegged back by newly-promoted Ipswich, who in previous home matches against Liverpool and Fulham had threatened to cause an upset. Luckily it wasn't total disaster for Villa, though Collymore wasn't particular pleased with their showing in Suffolk.

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"Thought we played in energy conservation mode instead of the usual high tempo. That means teams at this level will always pose a threat and it becomes difficult to respond to, credit to Ipswich, they stayed in the game," he wrote in assessment on X.

Emery had made one forced change for the match with Leon Bailey entering for the injured John McGinn. That meant he opted to keep his defensive line, containing Carlos alongside Pau Torres in the middle with Ezri Konsa at right back, the same as the previous weekend.

This may only have been to deal with Matty Cash's ongoing injury, though Collymore is far from convinced by Carlos in this Villa team.

Holding nothing back, he added: "Carlos is an issue, Konsa back at centre back a must. The habit of conceding first is a concern, eventually it'll cost more than two points today. If we can play at tempo v City or Bayern, then we can v Ipswich. It's that simple."

The 31-year-old was closely linked with a summer transfer away from the club, though as Emery and Co did not add another defender to their ranks in the final weeks of the window a proposed move to Fulham broke down.

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