Eight recoveries, 77 touches: How Mile Jedinak fared on his Aston Villa debut

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The 32-year-old Australian midfielder made his claret and blue bow in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Bristol City.

After a promising start, Mile Jedinak’s Aston Villa debut turned out to be one to forget.

The 32-year-old Australian midfielder was making his first appearance for the club in Saturday’s match at Bristol City after completing a £4 million move from Crystal Palace last week, but his introduction to the starting XI failed to prevent Roberto Di Matteo’s men from falling to a disappointing 3-1 loss.

Villa took an early lead on the afternoon when Jack Grealish volleyed in Leandro Bacuna’s cross after only five minutes, but they failed to build on a dominant first-half display as Jordan Ayew, Bacuna and Ross McCormack all missed chances to double their advantage.

They were ultimately made to pay just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini parried a shot into Tammy Abraham’s path for the Chelsea loanee to equalise, before Joe Bryan put the hosts in front just two minutes later after running behind the defence and finishing into the bottom corner.

Villa never really looked like recovering from there and their misery was compounded nine minutes from time when Lee Tomlin curled in a sublime free-kick to condemn them to their third defeat of the season.

It was essentially a tale of two halves for many of Di Matteo’s players on the day, and Jedinak was certainly no exception.

The Australia skipper, who could not play in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Derby County due to work permit issues, dominated the centre of the park for the opening 45 minutes at Ashton Gate thanks to his physicality and disciplined positioning, but he failed to keep things going after the break as he appeared to tire and his passing became increasingly wayward.

He at least kept battling until the final whistle – unlike some of his teammates – but his lack of mobility alongside the ineffective Ashley Westwood was beginning to become a clear problem by the time the third goal went in.

At the same time, though, the talismanic veteran did manage to put up some solid defensive statistics over the course of the afternoon, making two tackles, two interceptions, eight recoveries and one block, while also winning six duels and recording a team-leading 77 touches of the football.

While it was far from the best he can offer, the strength and determination he showcased during the opening 45 minutes were obviously the reason why Di Matteo made him one of his number one transfer targets this summer, and those qualities will likely prove key to helping Villa turn around their fortunes going forward.

Whether Westwood or the injured Aaron Tshibola is the better central midfield partner for him remains up for debate at this stage, but we should see the Socceroos star start to make a real difference once he has a bit more time to settle into the side and get his match fitness where it needs to be.