Aston Villa news: Ashley Williams praises Unai Emery’s midfield set-up

Former Premier League defender Ashley Williams praised Aston Villa’s midfield set-up in their 2-1 win over Manchester City, which left the reigning Premier League champions unable “to counter-attack at all”.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Williams said: “The game was won in midfield – Kamara, Rogers, Onana, Tielemans and McGinn were superb.

“They played so close together and they worked so hard together. They just swarmed Manchester City so that any time they had the ball in the advanced areas, if it wasn’t Kamara then it was Onana winning a tackle.

“That then allowed them to release each other in possession as well, so they always had a pass free straight after winning the ball back, because they were working so closely together.

“They just weren’t allowing Manchester City to counter-attack at all.

“I would like to highlight Tielemans and Onana. If it’s not one of them then it’s the other and they are able to play out of situations at the back. We saw the best of Tielemans in this game.

“When Aston Villa are on the ball, they have always got options. It is either a diamond or a square shape that they play in, and that allows them to play through teams and play through the lines.

“They were outnumbering Manchester City in midfield and, because of that, Tielemans was wide open which allowed everyone else to play forward straightaway.

“They had lots of different overloads in their favour.”

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