'Villa's long-range efforts come by design'

A convenient narrative has taken hold: Aston Villa are supposedly riding their luck in the top four.

It is a line pushed by big-name pundits who, if we are honest, are not watching 90 minutes of Villa every week. They are leaning on top-line data handed to them by production teams and assuming it tells the full story.

Their argument rests on two stats. Villa have scored nine of their 16 Premier League goals from outside the box and their expected goals (xG) sits at 11.9, 19th in the division. The perceived logic is that Villa are leaning on improbable long-range strikes that cannot possibly continue.

That reading collapses once you look at the goals rather than the spreadsheet.

Most are anything but speculative. Aside from Matty Cash's audacious 30-yarder at Sunderland, Villa's long-range efforts come by design, from Unai Emery's side working the ball, stretching opponents and punishing deep blocks by creating clean sightlines on the edge of the box.

Two of the nine goals came from direct free-kicks straight off the training ground. These are more rehearsed patterns than coin flips.

John McGinn shifting the ball and curling inside the far post is standard McGinn. Amadou Onana drilling low from 20 yards against Bournemouth was a carbon copy of his strike against Young Boys last season and exactly what you expect from a £50m midfielder.

With Ollie Watkins currently goal shy, the wider spread of goals has been welcome. Villa are not defying probability. Having previously been criticised for overplaying, they are now fully utilising a midfield stacked with players such as Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia who have the technique to strike from range.

In terms of punditry concerns of sustainability, Villa also have a back-up plan to cover it, because surely their top Premier League scorer can't go on not scoring?

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said