Emi Buendia

[ChicagoLion]

On the radio, the commentators were creaming over a control by Emi. Apparently the ball came from a very high height and he was surrounded by players, he just easily trapped it then passed it to one of ours. I’d love to see it.

Yes it was absolute class.

[Brazilian Villain]

Our Christmas Wizard.

Evil bastard, more like. https://x.com/kerubo_hillary/status/1997685225854476663

[darren woolley]

I'm so pleased he got the winner he's been brilliant this season.

[eamonn]

Cash (the man in black) had a fine resurgence in the 90s with the American Recordings but I don't recall Onana ever having a musical career to resurrect.

No, but he was namechecked in 90s songs.

Sick beats, fine bars. I love it!

[eamonn]

From being so peripheral he was in his plain clothes attending Villa games while injured and out of favour to being our game-changer this season. What a guy!

[cdbearsfan]

Wouldn't he still have been injured when those photos were taken?

[eamonn]

Yeah, thought I covered that!

[cdbearsfan]

You can't expect me to read posts properly!

[Toronto Villa]

This might be a hostage situation

https://x.com/avfcofficial/status/1998730667975135306?s=46

[eamonn]

That contract extension we gave him at the beginning of the year looks like a canny move.

[eamonn]

Looks like Emi has been taking lessons from SJM. The way he bummed into the Basel lad to fend him off before laying the pass on for Youri's winner was a classic Meatball rope-a-dope roll.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Yeah, I noticed that. Did it a couple of times during the game. Doesn't seem that long ago many were having a go at how easily he got pushed off the ball. Not any more. It's like he's been listening to Vitinha, stop trying to compete physically with the big guys and do something different using your skill. He's doing that but added the SJM arse trick, something Vitinha could only dream of.

I'd love it if Emi B gets selected for the Argentina World Cup squad on the back of a trophy and top 4 finish this season.

[Brazilian Villain]

I'd love it if Emi B gets selected for the Argentina World Cup squad on the back of a trophy and top 4 finish this season.

And wins the World Cup with Argentina.

[SaddVillan]

From The Athletic

ASTON VILLA’S EMILIANO BUENDIA EMBODIES EVERYTHING UNAI EMERY WANTS FROM A No 10

Emiliano Buendia’s 95th-minute goal against Arsenal was scrappy, chaotic and entirely fitting. It embodied the resilience that has defined both his and Aston Villa’s season.

With the match at Villa Park level at 1-1, the ball pinballed around the visitors’ six-yard box, defenders failed to clear, and Buendia had the last say, prodding it into the net. The crowd erupted. It was the biggest moment of their season so far.

The goal lifted Villa to third in the league and within three points of top spot. Five days later against Basel of Switzerland in the Europa League, with the score again 1-1 early in the second half, Buendia provided the assist for Youri Tielemans to get the decider in an away victory.

After an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury wiped out his 2023-24 season and a loan to Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen in January brought only three starts, Buendia has re-emerged in 2025-26 with four goals and two assists in 14 league appearances. It is his best goals-plus-assists per 90 minutes of any season in the 28-year-old Argentinian’s career.

Villa’s summer signings in attacking positions have struggled to settle — Jadon Sancho has shown flashes but lacks rhythm, while Harvey Elliott is yet to break into the team, making a single Premier League start. In their absence, Buendia has stepped into the void.

Villa and Buendia both struggled early in the season. The Birmingham club went winless in their opening five league games, the player started just two of those matches and was substituted in the second half of both.

The turnaround came in match six, against Fulham, where Buendia replaced Elliott at half-time with the score tied at 1-1. Within six minutes, he had assisted John McGinn and scored Villa’s third of a 3-1 win himself.

His goal showed the kind of movement that has defined his season.

As Lucas Digne shaped to cross from the left, Buendia made a sharp run into the box. Digne instead slipped the ball to Ollie Watkins, who drove toward the byline. Buendia paused. The Fulham defenders continued tracking other runners. That moment of hesitation created a pocket of space near the six-yard area. When the cutback came, Buendia was unmarked. Composed touch, clinical finish.

Including that match, Villa have won 10 of their past 11 Premier League matches.

Buendia has continued to deliver in key moments. Against Tottenham in October, he received a pass on the edge of the box and initially shaped to cross with his right foot. But no defender closed him down. He let the ball roll across his body, opened up on his left, and guided a finish into the bottom corner — enough for a 2-1 away win. Placement over power, using the inside of his foot for precision.

He provided the assist for Matty Cash’s goal in a 1-0 defeat of Manchester City a week later. Against Bournemouth last month, he opened the scoring with a knuckleball free kick from the edge of the box: up and over the wall, dipping sharply under the crossbar.

Four goals from four shots on target this season, with a personal xG figure for the campaign so far of 1.56 xG.

Look closer at the four and there are common threads to Buendia’s patterns in front of goal.

The Arsenal goal was born out of constant movement and resilience. Before the ball came into the box, Buendia was drifting into space ahead of the front post. After it arrived and began pinging between defenders, he stationed himself in a pocket and stood still. In a moment of chaos, he showed composure.

The cutback finish against Fulham was similar to a headed one in September of last year against Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup. That Bournemouth free kick echoed an effort against Roma in pre-season.

Beyond the numbers, what defines Buendia is his adaptability across roles and, in particular, his understanding of game states.

He has started six matches and come off the bench eight times in his 14 league appearances this season, operating across the front line and in the attacking midfield position.

Against Arsenal, he came on in the 87th minute and recorded 11 touches. Eight came inside the penalty area. He was gambling on chaos and positioning himself in the right place. It paid off.

Against Basel, the role and demands were different. He registered 24 touches in the middle third, more than in any other game this season, helping Villa control possession at 57 per cent while providing that match-winning assist.

Against West Ham on Sunday, Villa had to come from behind twice before Morgan Rogers put them up 3-2 in the 79th minute. Buendia came on for the final 15 minutes and helped see the win out. He made himself available, kept the ball moving, and none of his 15 touches came inside the opposition box.

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has noted how difficult it is to defend against fellow Spaniard Unai Emery’s No 10s. All his players know what they want to do, he said last year, but the timing makes Villa hard to stop.

Buendia exemplifies this approach. He constantly drifts into pockets of space, making sharp movements of five or 10 yards to find room between the lines. His dribbles are not long sprints but short, purposeful bursts to beat a man or create a shooting angle. When he drives forward, it is often toward defenders rather than in behind them, pulling them out of position and opening passing lanes: safe when the game requires it, ambitious when closer to goal.

Villa’s system suits his characteristics.

Emery’s attacking shape often features two narrow No 10s operating between the lines, with the wingers often functioning as disguised second playmakers rather than hugging the touchline. Buendia thrives in those central pockets, and also combines well with full-backs near the touchline.

The sample size remains small, but the evidence is clear: these are not fortunate moments, they are patterns — repeatable and reliable.

Villa’s drive to secure Champions League football for next season, and perhaps more tangible rewards, will need to keep seeing them in the months ahead. Buendia has shown he can deliver.

[Chap]

Prodding it in the net??, think there was a bit more finesse to it than a prod!