We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton “knows for a fact” that Aston Villa are working hard on their set-pieces at Bodymoor Heath.
Pau Torres scored Villa’s equaliser in the win over Tottenham on Sunday after a stunning deep delivery into the box by Douglas Luiz from a free-kick.
Luiz, 25, has scored six goals and supplied four assists in 21 appearances this season for the Villans and a lot of those goal contributions have come from dead-ball situations.
Hutton believes the former Manchester City midfielder is among the best set-piece takers in the Premier League, especially when it comes to delivering a ball into teammates.
“When it comes to corners and free-kicks into dangerous areas, Luiz is right up there,” Hutton told Villa News.
“When it comes to actual dead-ball positions in front of the goal, when you expect a goal – in the James Ward-Prowse area – he is possibly [among the best] but probably not among the best overall.
“He’s scored from corner kicks and his ball into Pau Torres is ridiculous. It’s right on the money on his head and it goes in the goal.
“I know for a fact it’s something they work really hard on [at training], the delivery into the areas.
“It’s something that’s really paying off for Aston Villa.”
Next up for Villa is a clash against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday (3 December).
A win in that game could see Emery’s men rise as high as first place in the Premier League.
In other Aston Villa news, it is “done” for this central midfielder to quit Villa Park with a permanent transfer deal already agreed.
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