Celtic manager Neil Lennon has been sharing his thoughts on Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz and his performance during Villa’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in midweek.
This comes after Lennon recently made an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast to look back at the recent round of midweek Premier League fixtures.
During the programme, Lennon heaped a lot of praise on Luiz for his display against Steve Bruce’s side.
He said: “I thought he was outstanding. First time I’ve seen him live and he covered a lot of ground. He prompted a lot of attacks. He broke up Newcastle attacks.
“He was always in the right place at the right time. He showed great maturity, for someone so young. I thought he was a real pivot and a lot of good things came through him.”
Has Douglas Luiz been Villa's best performer since the league restarted?
Yes
No
For his performance in the match at St. James’ Park, Luiz earned himself a match rating of 6.45/10, according to WhoScored.
This match rating is close to his overall season rating for his debut campaign at Villa, having earned himself a rating of 6.56 for his performances over 29 Premier League appearances (per WhoScored).
TIF Thoughts…
Despite not having the highest match rating out of all of the Villa players that played against Newcastle in midweek, Luiz certainly impressed Lennon with his performance in the match.
If Luiz can continue impressing for Villa, he could well become an important player for Dean Smith’s side as they aim to avoid relegation this season.