Leon Bailey started as a striker for Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon with Unai Emery already looking into an interesting tactical change.
Villa hosted Manchester United in the first game of the Unai Emery era.
Villa were flying in the opening stages as Bailey and Lucas Digne both found the net in the opening 15 minutes.
A heavily deflected Luke Shaw strike gave United hope but Jacob Rasmey ended their hopes of a comeback with Villa’s third.
Leon Bailey started as a striker
This was the dream start for Emery, ending a 27-year wait for a Villa home win over Manchester United.
Villa fans will now have real hope of a bright future under Emery and he made an interesting tactical decision before kick-off.
Emery went with a 4-4-2 setup, as he did for most of his time in charge of previous club Villarreal.
Yet despite having striker Danny Ings on the bench, Emery went with Leon Bailey as the second striker alongside Watkins.
The move paid off instantly; Bailey raced clear to score Villa’s opener, slotting his shot past David De Gea.
Emery hailed Bailey as ‘amazing’ after the game and the Jamaican has been named as Villa’s official Man of the Match.
Bailey is a winger by trade but Emery now wants to use him as a striker – and it’s something the Spaniard loves to do.
Emery turned winger Arnaut Danjuma into a second striker at Villarreal with great effect.
The Dutchman smashed 16 goals in all competitions last season and earned lofty interest from some of Europe’s elite after just one season under Emery.
Emery clearly sees some of the same qualities in Bailey and wants to turn him into a lethal striker too.
That’s a fascinating change for Villa and if Bailey can get even close to Danjuma’s output from last season, this will be an Emery masterstroke.
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