Ahmed Elmohamady has taken to his Twitter account following Aston Villa’s 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Bristol City on Thursday evening.
The 33-year-old tweeted: ‘Solid performance from everyone tonight, Really enjoyed my debut as CB. Onto the next round #UTV‘
The Egyptian was lining up in an unfamiliar position, as Dean Smith experimented by starting him at centre-back to face the Championship outfit.
Villa’s No.27 – by his own admission – was making his debut in the centre of defence, but he didn’t look out of place in the role.
Elmohamady had more touches of the ball – 85 – than any other player on the pitch. He also completed 71 passes, which was only bettered by his centre-back partner Kortney Hause.
The ex-Hull man also saw 14 of his attempted 16 long-range passes come off successfully, while he managed to complete two tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.
Above all, Elmohamady – who Spotrac say earns £25k-a-week – helped the Villans keep a clean sheet.
As he said himself, the natural right-back ‘really enjoyed’ his debut at centre-back, and the stats from WhoScored reinforce that sentiment.
With Frederic Guilbert and Matty Cash in his ranks, maybe Smith is thinking about a more permanent position change for the experienced defender as competition at right-back has increased.
If that is the case, then Elmohamady has done himself plenty of favours by showcasing impressive versatility against a decent opponent in Bristol City.
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