Birmingham Mail journalist Ashley Preece has criticised Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz after a poor display against Southampton.
Preece was speaking on the Claret and Blue podcast following the defeat to the Saints and highlighted the fact that Villa were laboured – using Luiz as an example of that.
He said:
Just put that little bit of effort in. It was so laboured on Saturday.
Targett had a throw-in, Douglas Luiz showed for it, he just casually on his weaker foot used the outside the boot and it went out for a throw-in.
He apologised to Dean Smith on the touchline but I think he was right to dig them out.
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We believe Preece is right to use Luiz as an example of the team’s lack of effort and energy because the Brazilian international failed to make an impact on the game, having zero shots and zero key passes in the entire 90 minutes (WhoScored).
Manager Dean Smith said after the defeat that many players had played their way out of the team for the Carabao Cup final and judging by his statistics, we believe Luiz could be one of them.
However, we feel it is important not to be too harsh on the midfielder because he is still only 21, meaning he has plenty to learn about his position yet.
A few matches out of the team could end up helping Luiz because it could motivate him to work harder in training and then perform in matches.
