Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi was part of an Aston Villa side that recorded an impressive win in a Champions League knockout tie on Tuesday night.
Axel Disasi started as Aston Villa secured a 3-1 away victory at Club Brugge in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 match.
Disasi, 26, left Chelsea on loan in the winter transfer window because he slipped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. Now, the defender’s on the brink of helping Unai Emery’s side into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Villa boss Emery phoned Disasi regularly to convince him to make the switch to the Midlands club mid-season. It looks like the move is working out well for both parties so far.
Chelsea fans criticise Aston Villa for playing Axel Disasi at right-back
Disasi is a versatile defender who’s proven he can play centre-back or right-back, but history suggests he’s a lot more uncomfortable in the latter.
In Villa’s European success over Brugge, the on-loan defender slotted in at full-back despite impressing at centre-half in his previous appearances for them.
Chelsea supporters on social media were left mystified that Disasi played at right-back on the Champions League stage in midweek.
One fan wrote: “Why are they playing him (Disasi) at right-back?”
“Why do all these managers like to play Disasi at right-back?” another asked.
One supporter posted: “They should put Ezri Konsa at right-back and Axel Disasi at centre-back.”
“Why would you have disasi playing right-back?” another said.
One fan claimed: “Disasi playing right-back is always a disaster. The Brugge equaliser was on him being flat footed and not being aggressive enough to win the ball. He is better centrally.”
Even though Disasi was great around Chelsea’s dressing room, it made sense for him to leave in the winter to go and play more regularly elsewhere.
Villa supporters want to sign Disasi permanently because of his recent displays as a central defender, but we’ll be intrigued to see if that’s still the case if he continues at right-back. During his Blues career, he looked a lot more comfortable in a central position where he can defend with aggression and play to his physical strengths.
Axel Disasi performance vs Club Brugge in numbers
The Chelsea fanbase weren’t too impressed with what they saw from Disasi in Villa colours at full-back. However, the underlying numbers weren’t too bad from his European display.
| Minutes played | Accurate passes | Tackles won | Clearances | Interceptions | Duels won | Duels lost | Match rating |
| 64 | 19/24 (79%) | 0/1 (0%) | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7.4 |
For Brugge’s goal, Disasi could’ve perhaps defended more intelligently to prevent the move in the build up. On top of that, he didn’t offer much of an offensive threat from the right-back position, whereas Matty Cash got forward when he replaced him during the second half.
If Villa want to get the best from Disasi during the rest of the season, we’d urge Emery to play the Frenchman in the heart of defence.
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