Aston Villa boss Unai Emery hailed Donyell Malen after the 2-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League
17:33, 05 Oct 2025Updated 18:26, 05 Oct 2025
Donyell Malen scored twice against Burnley
Unai Emery was delighted to unlock Donyell Malen’s best qualities against Burnley, as the forward struck both goals in Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory.
Malen opened the scoring in the 25th minute, latching onto Boubacar Kamara’s through ball before holding off Maxime Esteve and finishing past Martin Dubravka.
He doubled his tally in the second half, drilling a low shot beyond the former Newcastle United goalkeeper after being picked out by Morgan Rogers inside the box.
It marked the first time the Dutchman has scored twice in a single match across all competitions since February 2024, when he netted a brace for Borussia Dortmund against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga.
Against Burnley, Malen operated more centrally in support of Ollie Watkins with minimal defensive responsibility, while Matty Cash was deployed out wide with John McGinn also offering protection. It was a tactical change which Emery was thrilled to see pay off.
“We are doing something like that with Guessand, but Guessand is getting more on the right side,” Emery explained when asked about Malen’s position as the second striker. “We want them to attack the goal. With Malen, he played more central and not defending on the right.
“We wanted to get the structure and John McGinn helped to play lower. Really, Malen played fantastic and he felt comfortable. He felt like he was in the position to help exploit his qualities.
“We are thinking in our structure and then adapting of them. We were trying to get one player to attack aggressively in behind. If we can get Malen close to the box, he has qualities and is a fast player to shoot and he is clinical. Today he showed it.
“He was not getting physically some matches before, like against Sunderland and Feyenoord he had an action like today. Getting confidence and trying to give them positions on the field where they are really feeling better to exploit their qualities. Today he got it.”
“Our demands are high demands,” Emery continued. “He always works well and has a commitment to try his best is there. Sometimes he performs better or worse.
“I spoke to him yesterday about the position I wanted him in today. He is one player more to help Watkins get to the opponent box. He did fantastic. The most important thing, like with Watkins not scoring, he still did his work.”
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