1 week Ago By Darren Looney, HITC
Aston Villa ’s hope of qualifying for the Champions League next season received a boost on Saturday. Unai Emery’s men defeated the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton 3-0 and the result leaves the Birmingham club in seventh position, just one point behind Man City in fifth. 32 16 7 9 62 42 20 55 6 32 15 9 8 56 39 17 54 7 32 15 9 8 49 46 3 54 8 32 13 9 10 52 40 12 48 Aston Villa play PSG in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday and it was uncertain what team Emery would play against the Saints.
The 3-0 win against Southampton is exactly what the Birmingham club needed and Marcus Rashford seems confident that Aston Villa can beat PSG this week in order to advance to the Champions League semi-finals. One man who could have a big role in that is Youri Tielemans , with Thierry Henry heaping praise on the midfielder after his display at the weekend. Thierry Henry lauds Youri Tielemans for his passing Tielemans has been a key part of Emery’s success at Aston Villa this season as having featured for the Birmingham club 47 times, producing three goals and nine assists.
Two of those assists came in Villa’s last two Premier League matches and speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Henry was full of praise for the Belgian star after his role in Ollie Watkins’ goal, which was a carbon copy of Morgan Rogers’ strike the week before against Nottingham Forest. “If you are Southampton, that is the last man you want on the ball. You want Onana on the ball, not Tielemans,” Henry said.
"Don't only play the game, think it." Thierry Henry analyses Youri Tielemans' assists for Aston Villa pic.twitter.
com/hxHq7pOsDf “If you have been looking at Villa recently, you know that Tielemans has improved in his passing forward. Southampton are not interested in him. This is one of the best passers in the league.
Look at the reaction of Watkins (makes run in behind).” Tielemans has displayed skills like this in the Premier League for years and many consider the 27-year-old as one of the most underrated in England’s top flight. Tielemans is one of the Premier League’s most underrated players Having moved to Villa Park from Leicester City during the summer of 2023, Tielemans did not get off to the best start at Aston Villa and there was even talk of the midfielder leaving the Birmingham club last summer.
Despite this, Tielemans has been a key player for Emery this season with the Belgian a crucial part of how the Spanish coach wants his team to play, while also racking up a massive 4042 minutes of action. The midfielder has been one of the most underrated players in the Premier League for many years as he also had a big impact at Leicester, with his FA Cup final goal being his standout moment. Villa fans will be happy that Tielemans is now starting to get his flowers and will also be hoping the 27-year-old can guide them to an FA Cup title, like he did with his previous club.
This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission..
