Ezri Konsa excels with added Aston Villa responsibility as 94th percentile ace shines after Tyrone Mings’ injury
When Tyrone Mings was injured during Aston Villa’s opening-day match against Newcastle, many wondered how Unai Emery’s team would fare.
In the absence of the England international, Ezri Konsa has stepped up in the Aston Villa backline and led from defence in a manner reminiscent of Mings, and it is evident that the 25-year-old is embracing the chance.
Konsa has started all seven of Emery’s Premier League games this season, and he has proven to be the most consistent centre-back in the group at Villa Park, alongside Pau Torres and Diego Carlos, and he has been pleased with how he has adapted to his new role.
According to Birmingham Live (4 October), he added, “I’ve always felt like I needed to add more leadership to my game.” Tyrone has been my teammate for many years, and I always believed he was the leader.
“I used to simply go off him and utilize him as a guide. Now, it’s bad that he got injured, and we’re all rooting for him, but I feel like it’s time for me to step up and aid the people I’m playing with.”
In defense, Konsa has been a force to be reckoned with, averaging two tackles per 90 minutes and winning an average of 1.29 of them, putting him in the 83rd percentile of Premier League defenders [Fbref, 4 October].
The region of the pitch in which the 25-year-old has completed his tackles has been particularly notable, with his average of 0.29 tackles per match in the attacking third of the pitch ranking him in the 94th percentile of all his positional contemporaries.
Konsa has been equally impressive in the middle third of the field, ranking in the top 12% of defenders in tackles per 90 minutes, with the only section of the field where he falls below the average in tackles being the final third.
The region of the pitch in which the 25-year-old has completed his tackles has been particularly notable, with his average of 0.29 tackles per match in the attacking third of the pitch ranking him in the 94th percentile of all his positional contemporaries.
Konsa has been equally impressive in the middle third of the field, ranking in the top 12% of defenders in tackles per 90 minutes, with the only section of the field where he falls below the average in tackles being the final third.
