Here’s the big talking points as Man United put a stop to Villa’s run of form with a West Midlands derby against Wolves now on the horizon.
If Aston Villa’s incredible unbeaten streak was to end then it had to be at Old Trafford with the man Villa fans love to hate, Bruno Fernandes, grabbing what proved to be the winner as his shot flicked up off Alex Moreno before flying past Emi Martinez and a desperate Tyrone Mings.
Villa dropped down to seventh on Sunday but, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Brighton all still to play, Unai Emery’s European mission is still very much on. Here’s the talking points from Villa’s setback up in Manchester with just four games remaining. You can have your say in the comments section right here.
VILLA SET UNWANTED RECORD UNDER EMERY
Emery, in his own words, was “a little bit disappointed” on Sunday knowing Villa could have imposed themselves much more than they did. The Basque commented how his players deviated away from the game plan which was to keep possession and to curb the home side’s momentum. Villa, though, did the exact opposite and lost the ball 34 times at Old Trafford, which is a record across Emery’s 23 games. Jacob Ramsey (7), John McGinn (5) and Emi Buendia (4) were all guilty of giving the ascendancy back to the home side.
“We didn’t play to our demands,” Emery said afterwards. “Today the match gave us information about playing a match like today trying to impose our game plan.
“We didn’t impose it; the first half was worse than the second half. At the end, we will analyse this match. I think we could do better.
Granted, going to a side that have only been beaten at home by Man City this season was always going to be a tough task, but Emery will once again highlight the importance of “ball possession” across the remaining four fixtures. As those close to the dugouts in the Trinity Road Stand will testify, Emery *hates* it when a player needlessly gifts possession back to the opposition.
Emery added: “At Man United, we didn’t play like we were competitive like the other matches we have been playing. It couldn’t be because they have very good players and defended more. In the first half we didn’t play or feel good and defended more than we had to do. It was not enough in the second half.”
Villa allowed United’s main man Casemiro to dictate the tempo on Sunday, with the Brazilian the one-man pivot in what was a 3-1-6 formation at times as the ex-Madrid star kept turning and popping balls over Villa’s high line. It immediately put Villa on the back foot and they struggled to gain any kind of momentum with the result, in the end, expected.
UNITED TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIGH LINE
On Villa’s high line and United manager Erik ten Hag knew it was something his side could exploit. Marcus Rashford, who kept himself between Villa’s two centre-backs, was in on numerous occasions, including for Fernandes’ winner as he beat the offside trap to race on to Casemiro’s bullet header as Martinez went long from a goal kick.
United boss ten Hag commented: “One of our ideas in this game was to pass the ball in behind. But also the formation, the lads did great in their organisation attacking-wise. The timing [of the runs] was not always perfect but with our speed, in the right way, we created chances to score. It was a success.”
EMERY SERIOUS ABOUT TAKING VILLA TO TOP
Now there’s no secret that Emery is a man on a mission. He’s even stressed recently how he’s not at Villa to waste time and, as has been reported, the manager now wants accommodation built on site at Bodymoor Heath so he can spend more time at Villa’s training ground. “It’s just the way he is,” Ashley Young said over the weekend. “He’s got that hunger and desire for football. I’m not sure he even sleeps!”
Young added: “It’s just one of those things. When we’ve just played a game, you see him get on the bus with his laptop open looking at the game back. He’s one of them, those little details he likes to pick up on. He’s had success everywhere and he’s brought that winning mentality which has propelled us up the league. So if he wants to watch games back straight away – long may it continue.”
Across his various interviews after Villa’s defeat on Sunday, Emery referenced his desire to bridge that gap between Villa and United. It’s some statement to make given where both clubs have been operating in recent seasons but, had Villa won at Old Trafford, they’d have been just three points off United and the Champions League places.
“We have to reduce the distances from them to us, Manchester United to Aston Villa now, to try to take more opportunities to win here,” Emery said, with the boss intent on making Villa a top-six side. “I am happy thinking about our process, to get stronger in our way and playing more consistent with our idea – to improve our style and build.”
NOW IT’S THE FINAL FOUR IN QUEST FOR EUROPE
And lastly to Villa’s all or nothing quest for Europe. It was interesting to hear how Emery has bunched the final five games together. “We lost today one opportunity in the five matches we are going to face [for Europe],” he said. The manager is all about setting targets – from “escaping from the bottom” to “being in top ten” to now obtaining a certain amount of points from what was 15 available.
This Saturday’s West Midlands Derby has a lot riding on it. Wolves, impressive at Molineux having taken 18 points from a possible 27 under Julen Lopetegui, including beating Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Brentford, will be desperate to dash Villa’s European dream. Villa will have to show big improvements if they’re to set up their huge showdowns with fellow-European chasers Spurs (May 13), Liverpool (May 20) and, on the final day, Brighton (May 28).
As for Emery, he also hinted how he’ll take it all coming down to the final day at Villa Park with a winner-takes-all against a side he has often said is one of his favourites to watch in the Premier League, Brighton (52 pts), who have three games in hand on Villa (54 pts).
“We have to win our matches, win points,” Emery said bluntly of Villa’s European ambitions knowing a top-seven finish will mean it’s the Europa Conference League next season. “It’s now a key moment for us and [Brighton] to play for European places.
“It’s not normal, though, that they are playing fewer matches than us. But it’s like that and we will play against them in the last match.
“If we get this match to play for the possibility of Europe, it would be fantastic. If we want to get it and to have the opportunity, we have to win matches before. Wolves away, Tottenham at home, Liverpool away, they are tough matches but we are ready to do it and excited to have this opportunity.”
Let’s also hope Villa will have one or two of their injured players back for Wolves next week, with Emery confirming Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey are all expected to train this week. What a final four weeks we have in store, starting with what should be a red-hot atmosphere in the Black Country on Saturday.
