Pairing Jhon Duran with Ollie Watkins was a risk – and very unlike Unai Emery

You could hear the cries of anguish from Aston Villa’s pundits during the eight seconds and three passes between Ollie Watkins giving the ball away and Dominic Solanke scoring for Tottenham Hotspur.

Villa were just approaching the last quarter of the game. The ball was played into the path of Watkins, who – knowing that Jhon Duran was next to him and sniffing the chance to go two-on-two up – wanted to attack quickly.

He turned inside Ben Davies, who tried to tap the ball past the central defender, only to run into a wall.

Davies’ block spilled the ball to Pape Matar Sarr, who had space to drive and rip a pass through Villa’s disorganized midfield.

Analysts’ irritation reflected that in Villa’s technical area. Unai Emery’s game plan – based on deep organization and limiting space and turnover – had been transitioned into a fleeting, punishing passage. It crystallized the contradictions in Villa’s setup that are usually evident under Emery.

In his post-match press conference, Emery reiterated how “transitions” were fundamental to Tottenham’s attacking patterns. This affected Villa’s thinking from a defensive point of view as they sat noticeably deeper out of possession and tried to reduce the space between the lines.

This was demonstrated in both teams’ winning line in average possession – how high or deep either regained possession – with Villa provoking turnovers just 21 meters away from their goal.

The conservative plan appeared at odds with Emery’s second-half substitutions, however, with Duran’s entry – six minutes before Solanke’s first goal – putting the forward alongside Watkins. Naturally, the presence of two strikers prompted Villa to attack directly and with fewer passes – usually a no-go under Emery.

It seemed like a risky substitution to have Watkins and Duran together at that stage of the game, especially away to another Champions League contender. The decision was at the expense of Morgan Rogers who, despite the 22-year-old’s protests, Emery felt compelled to come off after two blows to his leg.

Regardless, Duran was a stylistically contrasting option. Rogers is a ball carrier, key to Villa’s transition from a huddled deeper shape to driving upfield. Defensively, Rogers closed the gap behind Watkins – the space where Sarr could drive the ball forward, without pressure, to the goal.

The call for Duran and Watkins to be paired together comes with drawbacks that were revealed in a matter of seconds. They are two No. 9s who thrive playing on the back line and occupy similar positions. The impact any potential partnership has on Villa’s overall fabric, with and without the ball, is acute and requires a balance to be struck.

Emery typically times his substitutions well. Mainly due to Duran’s influence, Villa have scored the most Premier League goals from substitutes (10) in 2024 and have had the most involvements (10 goals, seven assists) from the bench. On this occasion, however, Duran’s arrival had the opposite effect: he registered four touches in 30 minutes and only seemed to compound a dysfunctional second-half performance.

When asked about the thinking behind the pairing of Duran and Watkins, Emery said: “Because it’s an opportunity. I have to try to give minutes to those players on the pitch and how we can get better with those players. That’s the process we have, and we’re building a team. One situation we have to work with is the two strikers. We have to give them chances to gain confidence.”

Three substitutes were introduced with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. This also became a source of frustration for some fans given that Jaden Philogene, Leon Bailey and Boubacar Kamara had been cleared as the score leveled, yet Villa came out 3-1 down.

Tottenham scored twice in four minutes to pull the rug from under Villa’s feet. The players looked to the sky and Watkins exchanged words with Lucas Digne; cut numbers very different from the players who had gone confidently down the tunnel at half-time when a goal ahead.

For large periods of the first half, Villa followed their template in big games. They understood their defensive responsibilities. Watkins registered just two touches in the first 25 minutes as Villa gave Tottenham more possession and territory but limited chances to long, hopeful shots. And as they did in the same match last season, they scored themselves through a set play.

However, there is a fine line between organization and passivity, and Villa increasingly fell towards the latter. Emery often talks about his side being the “protagonists” in games, but they never gave the feeling of being on the front foot against Spurs until Duran’s substitution tipped the scale completely in the opposite direction.

Unlike last year – and perhaps influenced by their lead – Villa did not show improved intent early in the second half. Back then, Villa’s substitutions were inspired, offering far more cut and pace while maintaining a solid foundation. This time, three minutes after the break, Tottenham scored from, as Emery put it, “their first action”.

Despite Brennan Johnson’s goal renewing momentum and lifting the home support, Villa still had time to settle. Alarmingly, they only became more tentative.

Emery could have recognized this and introduced Duran in an attempt to encourage more purpose. It didn’t work.

Reflecting the hesitation that had spread, Johnson skipped around Amadou Onana – Villa’s best player on the day – in added time. The Belgium international stuck out just one foot and, as a precursor to giving away a potential foul, raised both hands in the air, palms facing outwards, gesturing that he had not made contact. Meanwhile, Johnson had already driven off with the ball.

James Maddison scored Tottenham’s fourth and Emery retired to the bench. He stressed the importance of Villa remaining “emotionally balanced” after a second-half dunk, even if the performance and his substitutions seemed deeply out of character.

(Top photo: Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)