Image via @mattycash622 on Twitter
I think it’s fair to say few of us expected Matty Cash to be gunning for a hat-trick by the end of Aston Villa’s 3-1 away victory over Burnley on Sunday afternoon, and yet that’s exactly what the 26 year-old was attempting, having scored a brace within the opening 20 minutes of what was his 100th match for Villa. It was fantastic news for us who have a vested interest in the fortunes of Polish internationals, and even better news those of us who have Cash in our fantasy football teams (myself included).
Villa boss Unai Emery’s utilisation of pushing his full-backs into attacking areas in this game meant that Cash and Lucas Digne were almost operating in the realms of the pitch you would normally associate with wingers. We’ve seen full-backs being the focus of tactical analysis so far this Premier League, mostly systems favoured by Manchester City, Spurs and Liverpool which involve one or more of the full-backs becoming inverted and operating in central areas. Villa’s set-up on Sunday was something of a throwback, using traditional wing-back play to create free movement in attacking areas, with Cash bombing into the penalty area throughout the 90 minutes.
Cash’s involvement with Poland has largely been positive, although there has been more sharp criticism in recent outings. If we think back to the games played under Czesław Michniewicz prior to the World Cup last year, Cash was put in the same sort of wing-back role we saw on Sunday which really had him stand out as a creative threat. This threat was shackled by the back four Michniewicz opted to use in the World Cup itself, and under Fernando Santos Cash has largely been injured, stemming from Santos’ very first game as Selekcjoner (that 3-1 loss to Czechia in Prague).
Obviously, I am not a manager with the experience of Santos and it would be churlish to tell him how to do his job, in this case simply copying Unai Emery. You have to say though, having Cash as a wing-back on one side and Nicola Zalewski, or maybe Jakub Kamiński on the other seems like a great way of setting the team up.
Cash will almost certainly be called-up by Santos on Thursday as Poland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign is in desperate need of two victories against the Faroe Islands and Albania this September. Hopefully this recent display shows him getting back to form after a tough and injury hit 2022-23 season.
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