Aston Villa produced yet another miserable performance in the Premier League last night.

Dean Smith has claimed that Marvelous Nakamba was Aston Villa’s ‘best player’ during their 4-0 thrashing by Leicester City on Monday night.

Villa, who are sitting in the Premier League’s relegation zone, produced another abject display despite taking comfort and some confidence from their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup final last week. 

Harvey Barnes and substitute Jamie Vardy both netted a brace on the night, as Pepe Reina’s decision to rush off his line in a crazy manner for the opening goal summed up Villa’s miserable night.

Speaking during his post-match interview for Monday Night Football on Sky Sports (09/03/20), Smith praised Nakamba and shared what his team did wrong.

“One of my biggest disappointments was we gave away the ball far too often,” Smith told Sky Sports. “Probably with the exception of Marvelous, who I thought was our best player on the night.

“I thought we were too loose in possession and gave them the ball back. They are a team that wants the ball and keep it well anyway without us giving it back to them. And it makes it hard when you are three goals down.” 

Nakamba joined Villa during the summer transfer window when he made an £11 million switch from Belgian side Club Brugge.

Against City, he was one of Villa’s better players, and last night against the Foxes, but it’s the collective display from the team that would be a serious worry for Smith.

They have a number of tough fixtures coming up now, starting with a home tie against fourth-placed Chelsea, who put four past Everton on Sunday.