Axel Tuanzebe admitted being disappointed with himself over one incident during Aston Villa’s draw.
Axel Tuanzebe has admitted that he was disappointed in himself for not playing to the whistle when Aston Villa expected Leeds to put the ball out for a throw-in during their Championship clash on Sunday, in comments reported by Birmingham Live.
The Villans were infuriated when Mateusz Klich broke the deadlock as Jonathan Kodjia lay on the pitch injured moments after Villa had put the ball out for an opponent who needed treatment.
Dean Smith’s men appeared to largely stop when Tyler Roberts slowed down as they seemingly expected the Wales international to put the ball out for a throw. He however, decided to play Klich in before tempers boiled over and only an uncontested equaliser managed to calm everyone down.
While Roberts passing the ball to his teammate instead of off the pitch seemed to surprise everyone, Tuanzebe conceded that he was frustrated for switching off as the incident unfolded.
“They didn’t have to let us score, but I think they portrayed good sportsmanship by letting us score the goal,” he said, as reported by Birmingham Live. “Respect to them.
“Everyone stopped playing. I’m disappointed in myself that I stopped playing. As a defender you have to be pessimistic and seek out danger. We all expected them to kick the ball out, they didn’t do so, but they didn’t have to.”
It would have been a real shame for the Villans that they did not keep a clean sheet as Tuanzebe and Tyrone Mings had been exceptional at the back for much of the game, and actually looked as though they could make an impact further up the pitch as they both produced outstanding runs out of defence during the draw.
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