Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has dubbed his club’s last game as a ‘strange’ match, but has called for a response from his team amid some poor recent form.
In their last league outing, the Villans were thumped 4-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur as Son Heung-min netted a hat-trick, while Dejan Kulusevski got in on the act as well.
Despite the four-goal deficit between the teams, Villa actually ended the game having taken eight more shots than Spurs. They also had eight efforts on target, while Tottenham scored with four of their five accurate attempts.
Will Aston Villa finish in the top half of the table this season?
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Even so, that defeat means Steven Gerrard and co have now lost their past four Premier League games on the trot. With that in mind, Mings took to Instagram to move on from the unusual match and make sure his team are up for the challenge.
He wrote: “Real strange game but we’re here for the challenge, through the good times & the bad. Thanks for the support & noise yesterday.”
TIF thoughts on Tyrone Mings and Aston Villa…
According to The xG Philosophy, Villa were expected to score 1.66 goals in the game, while Tottenham’s xG was thought to be just 0.88. So, it’s understandable if Mings feels like the scoreline didn’t reflect the performance.
His manager seemed to certainly feel that way, as he said (via Birmingham Mail): “It’s tough. The scoreline is harsh on us, but it’s the reality and we have to accept that. I have to accept it – I’m responsible. The story of the game certainly wasn’t a 4-0 game.”
Just as Mings says, it’s the club’s duty to face up to the difficult times. Their poor run of form means the Villans are now 12th in the table, but level on points with 14th-placed Southampton.
With just seven games left to play in the league, it now looks as though Gerrard faces a big task just to get his team to finish inside the top 10. Perhaps Mings’ rallying call on Instagram can inspire a change in form.
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