Unai Emery has explained his decision to leave Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott out of his matchday squad for Aston Villa’s victory over Man City on Sunday. Matty Cash scored the only goal for the Villans as they inflicted a surprise defeat on Pep Guardiola’s side.

Elliott has struggled for game-time since moving to Villa Park on loan on transfer deadline day, and had been left as an unused substitute for Villa’s last three clashes against Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Go Ahead Eagles.

But it still raised eyebrows to see the 22-year-old left out of Emery’s matchday squad entirely, as Tyrone Mings instead took his place on the bench after returning from injury.

With Aston Villa’s next match coming away at Liverpool next weekend, Elliott will find...