Unai Emery lifts lid on 'difficult' Aston Villa decision and hails ‘very important’ duo he can’t cope without

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has hailed Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers for their consistency and work rate throughout this season.

Tielemans and Rogers have been instrumental to Villa’s continued success having played more minutes than any other outfield Villan this term, racking up 4,042 and 3,806 respectively. Emery has tended to rotate his squad heavily recently now he’s got the necessary depth, but Tielemans and Rogers have very rarely been afforded a moment’s rest.

That’s even been the case over the past two weeks when Emery has chopped and changed up to eight players for matches. Almost every time without fail, Tielemans and Rogers are the only outfield stars to remain in the XI, while there’s no knocking goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from his perch.

Away at the already relegated Southampton on Saturday, a game Villa were huge favourites for, Emery easily could’ve benched Tielemans and Rogers to keep them fresh. There’s a far more challenging Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, after all, so it’d make sense. Emery stuck to his guns, however, and Villa swept Southampton aside by three goals to nil.

Neither Tielemans nor Rogers were on the scoresheet at St Mary’s Stadium but they notched an assist each, further emphasising their importance. It took 73 minutes for Villa to open the scoring, so Emery couldn’t even take the pair off early. Most would struggle with such relentless game time but Tielemans and Rogers seem to be thriving.

“Some players are showing us their consistency, playing minutes and recovering. It is not easy to play at the level we demand in matches in a row without being injured,” Emery told Birmingham Live.

"Youri and Morgan, they are being very important and consistent. I am always analysing if we can take some minutes to rest them, but until now they are being consistent and playing the demands we need.

"Other players are coming back from injuries and performing at the same level we are trying to get consistently. Now, some players are having that impact and coming off the bench performing at the same level we are trying to get and some are having impact and off the bench they are using fresh legs."

No rest for the weary

With the reverse PSG clash coming up on Tuesday and the hosting of Newcastle United awaiting on Saturday, Villa’s fixture schedule isn’t showing any sign of letting up. Tielemans and Rogers will probably continue to start every match available, too, really pushing them to the limits.

Why is it, then, that Tielemans and Rogers are more indispensable than others? Well, it’s all down to Emery’s rigid structure and the roles they play. There aren’t many players in world football capable of scanning and planning as well as Tielemans does in the midfield double pivot, whereas similar can be said for Rogers and his trademark powerful dribbles on the half turn.

Not only do Tielemans and Rogers perform these roles exactly how Emery wants, but they’ve got the exact attributes he desires for the positions. They’re also able to maintain such consistency and have some of the best engines in the Villa squad. If anything happens to either player, expect the levels to drop off — and sharply.