The Ramifications of Losing Pau and Maatsen

Two injuries in the same afternoon have taken away rather more than two names from Unai Emery’s team. Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen were becoming central to how Villa moved the ball from defence into attack. With Coventry and Tottenham arriving before an unusually long international break, Emery now has to find replacements for their functions as well as their positions.

By Nico Valenti

The final half-hour against Nottingham Forest offered a rather exaggerated picture of what Villa look like without Ian Maatsen. John McGinn ended up at left-back after Maatsen was forced off, with all five substitutions already used, but the more significant problem had begun much earlier. Pau Torres had disappeared after 25 minutes with a hamstring injury, Maatsen would follow with an ankle problem, and within one afternoon Villa had lost two of the players most comfortable carrying possession from one part of the pitch into another.

There is still uncertainty over the length of both absences. Emery’s language around Maatsen was the more alarming as he fears the left-back could be out for a “long, long time” whilst Pau’s hamstring injury still requires a clearer prognosis. Villa have enough defenders to fill both positions, particularly after the summer recruitment of Matteo Ruggeri and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. The question is what happens to the football around them.

Maatsen had increasingly become Villa’s way of making the left side dynamic without permanently stationing another attacker on the touchline. He can begin alongside the centre-backs, move through midfield, overlap a winger or arrive beyond him. Pau does something different from ten or fifteen yards deeper: he sees the space an opponent is prepared to leave a centre-back and is willing to walk into it. Bruges was probably the clearest recent example. Pau kept advancing until somebody had to leave their position, and Villa’s attack suddenly had a player free further forward.

Remove both and Villa lose progression from two adjoining positions. The replacements are there. The more interesting question is how much Villa have to change around them.

Different players, different routes

Mings is the most obvious replacement for Pau and was Emery’s choice when the injury occurred on Saturday. He knows the defensive line, gives Villa considerable presence in their own penalty area and is comfortable enough with the ball to play in Emery’s structure. What he does not quite reproduce is Pau’s patience when carrying into midfield. Pau will sometimes hold the ball almost provocatively, advancing until an opponent decides that the centre-back has travelled far enough and steps towards him. The pass that follows can then matter more than the carry itself.

Villa can redistribute that responsibility. Suzuki’s distribution offers one route beyond a press, while Kamara can occasionally come deeper to help construct the first phase. Manzambi may become relevant too: progression does not have to begin with a centre-back carrying through the opposition if a midfielder can receive, turn and travel instead.

Harwood-Bellis is another part of the equation. His passing has a more direct quality and he gives Emery another defender comfortable playing forward, alongside the physical presence Villa occasionally need when matches become dominated by crosses and second balls. Coventry should offer a sensible opportunity to begin finding out how quickly he can become more than depth.

The Maatsen replacement is clearer on the teamsheet but less straightforward in the structure. Ruggeri was bought to provide a genuine alternative on the left and his background at Atalanta and Atlético makes the demands of an aggressive wide role familiar. His movements, though, are naturally different.

Maatsen can move through the inside of the pitch almost like another midfielder before appearing outside later in the attack. Ruggeri is more naturally drawn towards the flank and can give Villa width through repeated running.

That immediately affects the player ahead of him.

The obvious summer assumption was that Garnacho would eventually own that position, but Emery’s selections have not reached that point. Garnacho has played very little, was unused in Bruges and again stayed on the bench against Forest. Emery has spoken positively about his attitude and progress while also making clear that he needs time. Hemmings has been trusted ahead of him, and Alysson was the winger Emery turned to at half-time on Saturday. There is little reason to assume Maatsen’s injury suddenly accelerates Garnacho past the point Emery believes he has reached.

Ruggeri therefore needs a relationship rather than a predetermined partner. Hemmings remains the safest option because Emery already trusts his positioning and work without the ball. Alysson has strengthened his case. Mbaye, rather unexpectedly, has given Emery another possibility on the left.

Before any of those decisions have to be made against Tottenham, Villa have a useful place to test them.

Coventry can be more than rotation

The timing of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Coventry could hardly be better from a coaching perspective. Four days before Tottenham, it gives Emery a competitive match in which to try some of the combinations created by Saturday’s injuries without waiting until north London to discover how they fit.

That does not require playing Saturday’s entire intended XI. Ruggeri needs meaningful minutes alongside one of the players who may start ahead of him. Harwood-Bellis needs exposure to Villa’s build-up and defensive line. Manzambi needs another step after the knee injury that delayed his debut. Mbaye has 28 Premier League minutes behind him and plenty still to absorb about Emery’s positional demands. Garnacho needs precisely the kind of football Emery says will move him towards readiness.

That is one of the curious consequences of Villa’s summer. The attacking profiles appear complementary on paper but many of the combinations barely exist on grass. Jackson had already been substituted by the time Mbaye and Manzambi made their debuts against Forest. Garnacho has scarcely played with him. Goretzka has yet to play at all. Even Ruggeri’s relationships further forward remain largely theoretical.

Coventry can begin reducing some of that uncertainty. If a Ruggeri-Mbaye left side is under consideration for Tottenham, there is little value in making Spurs the first proper test of it. If Manzambi is close enough physically to play a role at the weekend, another 45 or 60 minutes now should tell Emery considerably more. The cup tie still needs winning, but preparing for Saturday and progressing in the competition need not be competing objectives.

Tottenham then presents a very different match.

Pau would have been particularly useful against a side prepared to press Villa high because his carrying can force the first presser into an uncomfortable decision. Without him, Villa may become a little more vertical. Suzuki does not need to find Mings or Lindelöf with every restart if Jackson is moving into a channel and Villa have runners around him. Gomes is available again domestically, Kamara gives Emery control alongside him, while Manzambi’s carrying could become another route through pressure if his fitness develops quickly enough.

Ruggeri may actually find that environment easier than facing a deep block. Once Tottenham’s first pressure has been beaten, the pitch should offer opportunities for him to run into rather than requiring him to reproduce Maatsen’s manipulation of crowded areas. Villa would lose some subtlety on that side but could compensate with speed. Which brings the attacking question into the discussion.

What Forest actually told us about the new attackers

Villa’s second half against Forest should not be turned into evidence of an attacking breakthrough. It was a poor half. Forest finished the game with 22 attempts to Villa’s seven and seven shots on target, and the period before Maatsen’s injury was already moving increasingly in their direction. The final spell with ten men made matters worse.

Mbaye’s debut lasted 28 minutes and came predominantly from the left, an important detail given how naturally his profile had been associated with the opposite flank. He looked comfortable there. Within ten minutes he had moved into the left side of Forest’s penalty area and forced Sels into a save, while his ability to attack from outside towards his stronger right foot gave the defender a different problem from the one he would pose on the right. His final ball will need refinement and there will be moments when Emery wants him to delay the attack rather than immediately confront his man, but the pace and willingness to receive facing goal were immediately apparent.

On the opposite side, Alysson produced the one contribution that changed the score. His header was his only attempt and therefore hardly constitutes a statistical body of work, but the movement was more interesting than the number. He arrived in the penalty area while the attack developed elsewhere rather than waiting for Villa to manufacture another one-against-one for him. For a team that has frequently had plenty of players around the ball and too few attacking the space beyond it, that has value.

Manzambi’s numbers deserve even more caution after an injury-disrupted start, although the characteristic Villa bought him for survived the lay-off. He wants to receive and travel. There were moments when the Premier League closed around him faster than he expected and his work after turnovers will need sharpening, but his instinct is to move the opponent by carrying towards him rather than automatically returning the ball to the player behind.

None of the three transformed the Forest game. Together, they give Emery something to investigate.

That becomes more relevant because Buendía has not quite clicked with the attack around him. He has started all four league matches and continues to find clever positions, but the combinations have produced less than Villa would have expected. Part of that may be a question of geometry rather than form. Buendía naturally comes towards the ball. McGinn often moves inside from the opposite side. Jackson also likes to leave the centre and combine. When those movements occur together, Villa can accumulate technically intelligent players in the same area without stretching the defensive line enough to exploit them.

Maatsen helped solve that because he could provide the width from deeper. Without him, Villa may need more of it to come from the forwards.

That is why the brief Forest evidence around Mbaye on the left and Alysson on the right deserves another look. Put Jackson between them and the opposition’s back line has three different movements to manage: Mbaye attacking diagonally from one side, Alysson capable of running outside or arriving at the far post from the other, and Jackson moving away from the centre before attacking it again. Manzambi behind them potentially adds the player who can carry towards the defensive line and make somebody step out.

There are obvious caveats. Mbaye is 18 and has played less than half an hour of Premier League football. Alysson may prove more useful entering games than starting them. Manzambi is returning from injury. Jackson himself has to find greater consistency. Garnacho remains potentially the most accomplished one-against-one attacker in the group once Emery believes he is ready.

It is a possibility, not a conclusion. Coventry is precisely where possibilities can become evidence.

Two rehearsals, three weeks apart

Once Tottenham is finished, Villa receive something they have barely had since the transfer window closed: time.

The extended international window means they do not play another competitive match until Brentford at Villa Park on 10 October. In between, Villa travel to the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán on 2 October for Sevilla’s Antonio Puerta Trophy. Emery’s return to the club where he won three consecutive Europa Leagues gives the occasion an obvious sentimental appeal, but its usefulness to his current team could be considerably greater.

Sevilla comes after a training block and eight days before Brentford. It can be a rehearsal for the team Villa want to become after the break.

International call-ups mean Emery will not have everybody at Bodymoor Heath throughout the period, but that does not make the opportunity redundant. Several of the players most in need of integration may be precisely the ones who benefit from sustained work with the coaching staff. Ruggeri has suddenly become much more important. Harwood-Bellis needs to learn the defensive structure. Manzambi needs conditioning as much as tactical education. Garnacho needs the time Emery has repeatedly said he requires. Goretzka’s eventual availability would add another midfield relationship to solve.

The Sevilla game then provides a much better test of that work than another internal training session. Emery can use serious opposition in a proper stadium to see whether the movements developed during the break survive the speed of a match.

For Garnacho, the timing is particularly interesting. His current position in the hierarchy need not be permanent. If Emery believes the problem is readiness rather than quality, three weeks of coaching and a substantial friendly provide a route towards changing it. By Brentford, Villa should have a clearer idea whether the left belongs to Garnacho, whether Mbaye’s Forest cameo has opened another route, whether Hemmings remains the player Emery trusts most or whether the position will continue rotating according to the opponent.

Brentford on 10 October is followed by Fenerbahçe four days later, Newcastle on the 17th, Viking on the 21st and Manchester City on the 24th. Five matches in fifteen days will leave very little time for experimentation between games. The work needs to happen now.

The European consequence

There may yet be a Champions League consequence as well, although this depends much more heavily on the medical reports.

UEFA’s league-phase regulations provide a mechanism for temporarily replacing a registered outfield player who suffers a sufficiently long-term injury. The relevant threshold is an expected absence of at least 60 consecutive days, with eligibility and squad-composition requirements still applying. That potentially creates a route for Harwood-Bellis, who was left out of Villa’s original Champions League List A.

Pau may never become relevant to that discussion. If his hamstring injury is measured in weeks rather than months, Villa simply manage his absence and keep him registered.

Maatsen is the more interesting case if Emery’s initial fears are confirmed.

Ruggeri is already Villa’s direct replacement at left-back. If Maatsen’s prognosis crosses UEFA’s threshold, Villa could therefore use the temporary replacement provision to add Harwood-Bellis rather than another full-back. It sounds counter-intuitive until the squad is considered as a whole: Ruggeri absorbs Maatsen’s European minutes while Harwood-Bellis strengthens a centre-back group dealing simultaneously with Pau’s injury.

There is no reason to make that decision until the diagnosis is clear. If Maatsen is expected back sooner, Villa have sufficient defensive numbers to absorb the interruption without manipulating the European squad.

Perhaps Pau returns quickly and one part of the old structure comes back with him. Maatsen’s injury sounds more likely to demand a lasting adjustment. Either way, Villa cannot spend the next month searching for two players who can impersonate the ones they have lost. They need to work out what the players they still have allow them to become.