Swissquote match analysis: Ajax 0-0 Aston Villa

Ajax and Aston Villa fought out a goalless draw in a hugely competitive first-leg tie at the Johan Cruijff Arena in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

In this article brought to you by Swissquote, the UEFA technical observer group – working together with UEFA's analysis unit – examines how the away team's meticulous defensive cohesion proved a challenge to Ajax's offensive approach in a clash between the only former European Cup-winning teams remaining in this season's competition.

Aston Villa's defensive cohesion

"The defending of Aston Villa was incredibly organised," said the UEFA technical observer group. "They set up in a 4-4-2 and remained very compact for most of the game."

The clips in the first video highlight the tight and narrow structure of their mid-block, with no more than 15 metres between the front two, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins, and the back line at times and no attempt to put pressure on the ball despite the high defensive line. Although Villa introduced more high pressing in the second half as the game opened up, the high line remained. "Whenever they had to move up as a group, they did so," explained the UEFA technical observer group.

This patient and disciplined defensive approach by Unai Emery's side earned a valuable clean sheet but allowed Ajax to dominate possession in the first half – with 59%. Although more even in terms of possession after 90 minutes (51% for Ajax), the game marked a contrast with the group stage, when Villa registered the highest average possession (63.7%) of any team.

Ajax's hunt for space

Villa's compactness and bold defensive line posed a challenge to John van't Schip's young team, which was captained by the 33-year-old England midfielder Jordan Henderson. "Ajax had to try to find a way to find their attacking players," explained the UEFA technical observer group. As the first half progressed, they started to find striker Brian Brobbey with forward passes behind the back line. The left wing-back, Borna Sosa, also featured prominently, capitalising on "direct switches of play in behind Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa" and often crossing early towards Brobbey.

Clip one in the second video illustrates the biggest obstacle to Ajax gaining success breaching the high defensive line with forward passes in central areas: the ‘sweeper keeper’. Argentina's FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez excelled in the role for Villa. "When playing with a high defensive line, the way to do it well is with Martínez doing what he did or having incredibly fast defenders," explained the UEFA technical observer group. "Normally, as in this case, it's cooperation between the two. Every time the ball was passed long and the defenders couldn't reach it, he was there. His positioning, decision-making and ability to deal with the ball were very good."

Clip two shows another example of a right-to-left diagonal pass. This time Kenneth Taylor drifts inside to occupy Konsa and Diaby, vacating space for wing-back Sosa to exploit. Clip three highlights the first goalscoring chance created by Ajax going through the high line, rather than around or over it, as Villa attempted to press higher in the 33rd minute. Brobbey races towards goal but fails to hit the target.

Chances in transition

In the second half, both teams set up to press higher, which created more opportunities in transitions. Clip one in the third video shows a statement of intent by Villa five minutes after the restart. With Douglas Luiz joining Tielemans and Watkins pressing high, Diaby intercepts the forward pass and Villa enter the penalty area. Villa's Tim Iroegbunam – one of two European debutants in the away side – hesitates in the box and the chance is lost.

In clip two, Villa commit six players to the high press, opening up greater distances between their players and units. Ajax exploit the extra space to play through and find Brobbey in behind again only for the 22-year-old Dutch international to lose possession. Brobbey's immediate counterpressing action attracts five team-mates to join him in the attacking third and regain the ball.

The final clip highlights how both teams sought to break the deadlock with calculated risk-taking in transitions. Villa regain possession after forcing an error after an Ajax throw-in. We see them attack immediately with four players ahead of the ball. Yet within 12 seconds of a counterpressing Kenneth Taylor dispossessing Douglas Luiz, the Dutch midfielder is shooting at goal in a rapid attack with six Ajax players flooding the penalty box.

Although the late boldness of these attacking transitions failed to break the deadlock, both coaches sounded happy with the clean sheet. "We didn’t give much away and were disciplined against a good team," said Van't Schip afterwards. Although it was only the third time Villa had failed to score in their last 25 European matches, the four-time UEFA Europa League winner Emery said it was "more or less a good result", adding that the draw had left the tie "very open".