Unai Emery admits to Jhon Duran mistake in Monaco as he says 'it didn't work'
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery admits he made a mistake by playing two strikers in the final half an hour of the defeat to Monaco.
Ollie Watkins made his sixth successive start for Villa after regaining his place in the side after Jhon Duran was slapped with a three-game ban for violent conduct in the 3-0 loss at Newcastle United on Boxing Day. After scoring in successive matches before Villa's trip to Monaco, Watkins came close to making it three in three when he was played in by Emi Buendia before half-time.
He missed what was Villa's best chance of the game, but made a big chance for Morgan Rogers just after the restart. As Villa went in search of an equaliser - having fallen behind in the eighth minute - Emery turned to Duran in the 56th minute as he replaced Leon Bailey.
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"The last 20 minutes we lost a little bit our position on the field," Emery admitted. "It is not because the players were tired, it is because I decided to play with two strikers.
"With some two strikers we are not being organised with our positioning like I want. We didn’t work well tactically those 20 minutes rather than being tired.
"I made a mistake when I decided to play with two strikers because in that moment we were more or less controlling the game. It is my challenge because both are very good players but today it didn't work well."
Watkins and Duran are yet to start a league game together this season. The first time Emery played both from the off was against West Ham at the London Stadium last season and then in the 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign.
