Aston Villa were denied a victory over Juventus that would have sent them into the top five of the Champions League table after an injury-time Morgan Rogers strike was ruled out by VAR.
The Premier League team thought they had snatched the win when Rogers converted from close range with seconds left, but the celebrations were soon halted at Villa Park when Diego Carlos was adjudged to have fouled goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio while competing for a cross.
Unai Emery’s team began this European campaign superbly with wins over Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna, but slipped up last time out as they were surprisingly beaten by Club Bruges.
This latest match was a stern test, even though Juventus were so depleted by injuries that they only named six substitutes on their bench, including two goalkeepers.
Until the late drama it had been the Italian visitors who went closest to scoring, Emiliano Martinez making a superb second-half save to deny Francisco Conceicao from close range.
Jacob Tanswell and Greg O’Keeffe analyse the main talking points.
Will Villa be satisfied with a draw?
While the late drama will inevitably cloud how they reflect on this game, a draw is not a bad result for Villa in the circumstances.
In Tuesday’s press conference, Juventus manager Thiago Motta laughed and joked that his Villa counterpart was a “bluffer” after a journalist repeated Emery’s earlier assertion that he would take a point.
Despite Motta’s refusal to believe Emery, it contained a degree of truth. As the Spaniard explained, while three points would be significant in qualifying within the top eight of the Champions League format, a point would keep Villa on solid ground in reaching the competition’s next phase. Given Villa’s run of six matches without victory in all competitions, there was logic to his view that a draw would represent a decent result.
As it transpired, Villa showed promising signs of returning to some semblance of themselves. The performance was measured but there was not much risk-taking, underlining Emery’s desire to guard against Juventus’ transition and his preference not to commit too many players forward.
For a side that has kept one clean sheet in 12 Premier League matches, Villa restricted a toothless, makeshift Juventus attack to few chances, albeit Martinez was required to make that sublime clawing save in the second half from Conceicao.
And, on a different day, Villa could have edged this, had referee Jesus Gil Manzano not penalised Carlos right at the end. The draw leaves them ninth in the table with three group games left, with the top eight qualifying automatically for the last 16.
Jacob Tanswell
Did Kamara’s return make a difference?
Boubacar Kamara returned to the starting XI against Juventus (Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Boubacar Kamara is a player of subtly and quiet control, but his absence illuminated how reliant Aston Villa are on him.
Villa stumbled over the finishing line in the Premier League last season as they did eventually earn the top-four finish they needed to qualify for the Champions League and, though there were several reasons for this — fatigue and fixture congestion, for example — form trended in the wrong direction after Kamara sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in February. Before then, Villa were fourth in the underlying metric of expected points (xPTS) — based on goal chances determining the probability of which team wins a match. After he was ruled out, Villa plummeted to 15th in xPTS, showing the stark contrast.
Having returned last month, Kamara suffered a hamstring injury soon after but was passed fit for Juventus’ visit to Villa Park. He started alongside Youri Tielemans and at the request of Emery, who wanted a higher volume of short passes to control the game’s tempo, Kamara was key to Villa’s encouraging display.
Kamara is Villa’s midfield anchor and early on he played a pass to release Morgan Rogers on transition, resulting in Leon Bailey having a shot blocked. The 25-year-old’s defensive duties increased after Tielemans picked up an early booking and despite his lack of game time recently, was snapping at the heels of Khephren Thuram whenever the ball was played into midfield.
Gradually, Villa started to gain a foothold and exert control through possession and Kamara, through his metronomic qualities, helped Villa to build their attacks with patience, something Emery spoke about before kick-off. It was a solid performance and a reminder that there is no other player in the squad who can replicate his role.
Jacob Tanswell
How did Weah get on at centre-forward?
Tim Weah has talked up his predatory instincts and suitability for a centre-forward role in this Juventus side lately.
So Motta’s heavily-depleted ranks meant opportunity came calling for the USMNT attacker on Wednesday.
It was not a given. With Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik injured, Motta preferred two central midfielders — Weah’s compatriot Weston McKennie and Teun Koopmeiners — in attack for their 0-0 draw at AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday.
But between the pair of them, they managed just one shot all game at the San Siro, and so Motta turned to the 24-year-old American at Villa Park and effectively said: show me what you’ve got.
The answer, unfortunately, was not very convincing. Weah is having a good season. He has four goals and two assists in just nine league appearances and looks a menace cutting in off the right wing.
But at Villa Park he was starved of service and neither wide player, Kenan Yildiz or Conceicao, managed a single accurate cross. When Weah did try to take matters into his own hands, he lacked composure.
In the first half, he lashed a right-footed shot over the bar after a quickfire counter-attack, but had so little service to speak of that even his willingness to break forward did not mean he had a single touch in Villa’s six-yard box.
“When I see Chico (Conceicao) driving on the wing,” he said earlier this month after another bright Serie A cameo, “I immediately prepare myself for his cross.”
He was waiting a long time on Wednesday.
Greg O’Keeffe
What did Emery say?
“I’m very happy because we won a point,” Emery told TNT Sports. “We played a very competitive match and were dominating to try to get three points.
“The last action is clear. It’s the interpretation of the referee. We know in England it is 80 per cent not a foul, but in Europe maybe not. For me it was harsh. In England I know it’s not a foul usually because it was a very soft contact. But in Europe it could be a foul.
“I think the referee, in the beginning, he was giving it as a goal. We have to accept his decision.”
What next for Aston Villa?
Sunday, December 1: Chelsea (away), Premier League, 1:30pm UK, 8:30am ET
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(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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