Matt Maher analysis: Tyrone Mings injury hurts Villa far more than Newcastle drubbing
There aren’t many occasions when the worst aspect of a 5-1 defeat isn’t the performance or scoreline.
Sobering as Saturday’s loss at Newcastle was for Villa, it is the injury to Tyrone Mings which will have more lasting repercussions for their season.
Performances can be quickly fixed, as Unai Emery has already proved. Replacing a player like Mings, who brought much more to Villa than just good defending, is far less straightforward.
One match into the season, Emery suddenly finds himself having to rapidly redraft Plan A, with Mings now joining Emi Buendia as a long-term absentee.
It’s just as well, then, Villa paid £31million for Pau Torres yet the learning curve facing both the Spain international and Diego Carlos, the latter entering his first full season in the Premier League after missing the last through injury, is now significantly steeper than preferred.
Saturday, in that respect, was something akin to a baptism of fire and it was impossible not to wonder if Villa’s late collapse, which created a hammering from a match which for long periods felt much closer, would have happened with Mings still on the pitch.
Much of Emery’s post-match focus was, understandably, on his stricken centre-back, with the head coach staying philosophical on the overall display. Opening day results cannot define a season. It’s usually sensible to read only a little more into the first match than you do pre-season.
