Ezri Konsa might well be Aston Villa’s unsung hero of 2020/21

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Aston Villa continued their fine form yesterday by beating Leicester City 1-0 in the Premier League at the King Power Stadium.

Ross Barkley struck a fine winner in injury time to preserve the Villans’ 100% record in the league, and take the club to within a point of table-topping Everton.

Dean Smith’s side have made huge strides in 2020.

Perhaps there was a degree of fortune in the way they stayed up in 2019/20 given the goal-line technology controversy against Sheffield United, but results have undeniably been very good in the last few months.

One reason Villa are giving themselves a better chance of picking up points, is the improvements the defence has made.

And perhaps the biggest reason of all for that greater defensive solidity, is the emergence of Ezri Konsa alongside Tyrone Mings.

Mings being an England international perhaps brings about a greater spotlight and draw for fans and pundits, but Konsa has quietly been brilliant in 2020/21 at the heart of the defence.

TBR’s View – Konsa deserves huge credit

All the talk has been about Jack Grealish, John McGinn, Ollie Watkins and the more attacking players.

They’ve all had excellent starts, but Konsa has arguably been Villa’s unsung hero.

That spot next to Mings was sometimes a weak point in the team last term, but the £12 million signing from Brentford (BBC Sport) has come into the starting XI and looked unshakeable and arguably even helped improve his fellow Englishman alongside him.

According to Sofascore, the colossal Konsa won nine of his 12 duels against Leicester, made three clearances, two interceptions and wasn’t dribbled past once.

With just two goals conceded in the league so far, Villa’s defensive improvement is there for all to see and Konsa – who’s played every minute so far – is a major factor in that.