‘Emery is tactical genius’ – Cash

Matty Cash lauded Unai Emery’s tactical prowess, after Aston Villa recorded an impressive 2-1 triumph over Manchester City on Saturday.

The Villa boss marked the four-year anniversary of his appointment with a fourth successive home league victory over the Cityzens, thanks to a brilliant brace from Nicolas Jackson.

And Cash, who equally impressed at full-back, spoke of his manager’s adaptability and nous when it comes to facing Man City and other “top teams”.

The Poland international said: “He’s just a tactical genius. Especially against City at our place, I think over the last few years, we’ve been really good.

“He’s always got a new plan for something. He’s always coming up with new ideas.

“When you play against top teams, you have to adapt, and today I thought we did that really well.”

Asked on his individual battle with City winger Jérémy Doku, Cash discussed how a level of autonomy is required to deal with the threats different wingers provide, and praised his teammates for the individual roles they played in another impressive Villa Park victory.

He added: “The manager gives us tasks and stuff, but I think you have to take responsibility on the pitch yourself.

“He’s on the sideline – he can’t be doing it for you on the pitch. I do a lot of work on wingers and how I can stop them.

“Obviously, Doku is a good one-v-one dribbler and for me as a full-back, I like to get aggressive. It makes it difficult for them. I thought I did it well, and onto the next one.

“As a team, Bouba (Kamara) comes in and helps me cover as well. He’s always talking. Vic (Lindelöf) at the back was amazing, and Nico (Jackson) up front was unbelievable.”