Aston Villa fans fume at ‘disgraceful’ starter after what he did vs Bournemouth – ‘Hang your head in shame’
Aston Villa fans have slammed Lucas Digne for his lack of defending as Rayan ran past him to equalise for Bournemouth during their clash on Saturday.
Villa headed to the south coast this weekend off the back of a surprising home defeat to Brentford which put a huge dent in their already slim hopes of winning the Premier League this season.
Their hosts, Bournemouth, had won three of their previous four league matches to move away from relegation danger, but it was Villa who struck first through Morgan Rogers‘ 22nd-minute opener.
The Cherries looked the more likely side to score next, and new signing Rayan bagged on his debut just 10 minutes after the interval to level the scores.
It ended 1-1 between Villa and Bournemouth as the visitors lost more ground on the top two, and many of their fans have blamed Digne for the draw due to his role in the equaliser.
Lucas Digne watched on as Rayan ran past him to score for Bournemouth
Digne lined up at left-back for his 15th league start of the campaign, and he suffered a rare lack of concentration in an otherwise impressive strong season so far.
The France international’s general performance at the Vitality Stadium was fine, as he won the most duels of any player on the pitch and produced 11 defensive contributions to stop the Cherries from taking all three points.
His match was, however, defined by what happened in the 55th minute, as tricky winger Rayan sprinted towards the goal on Digne’s side of the Villa area, and was allowed to roam free before slotting past Emi Martinez at his near post.
Digne completely switched off and seemed to be taken by surprise by the Bournemouth debutant, and the goal eventually cost his side two points in the race for Champions League qualification.
Villa fans lambast Digne for his poor defending against Rayan – ‘Should be sold’
Digne is 32 years old now and has been a Villa player for over four years, but has not shown any signs of slowing down this season.
Villa rewarded Digne with a new three-year contract extension last summer for his fine 2024-25 performances, but he may be allowed to leave ahead of next season if he continues making bad mistakes like the one against Bournemouth.
Taking to X to react to his lack of defending for the equaliser, one Villa fan said: “A cone would mark more aggressively than Digne.”
While one added: “Lucas Digne, hold your head in shame. Pathetic defending.”
And another said: “Love Lucas Digne, he’s been brilliant, but that second half was one of the worst defensive performances I’ve seen in a long time. That goal is absolutely disgraceful defending.”