Despite struggling on a difficult afternoon at Bournemouth, Aston Villa were able to secure a 2-2 draw and salvage a point.
Villa twice fell behind but goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins ensured we picked up a point, and extended our unbeaten run across all competitions to five games.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s draw at Bournemouth
With a big week ahead now as both Manchester City and Arsenal visit Villa Park, Unai Emery will no doubt meticulously break down the analysis from this game and in his preparation for our upcoming challenges to ensure we can maintain our positive form.
That said, given the level of performance on Sunday at the Vitality Stadium, it’s clear that we will have to step up and raise our standard over the next seven days if we are to secure positive results.
Solution needed to stop conceding early away from home
That’s now four consecutive away games in the Premier League that we’ve conceded first, and they tend to come early in games to make life more difficult for ourselves.
It’s also now 10 games across all competitions since we kept a clean sheet, and so that will be a source of real frustration for our backline and Emery, as that is the foundation for success.
While it’s great to have that spirit and ability to fight our way back into games and get something from it, we need to stop conceding early on the road, as it will ultimately hurt us in the long run. Whether it’s a ‘back to basics’ mentality or fine-tuning what we do to be a little more cautious in the opening 15 minutes or so, a tweak is arguably required now.
Emi Martinez shows why he’s the best in the world
Villa may not have even been in a position to earn a point late on in this game, had it not been for the impact of Emiliano Martinez.
The 31-year-old was decisive yet again for us, as he made a string of brilliant saves to keep us in the encounter and thus we were able to eventually earn a point.
It’s a weekly occurrence with the Argentine World Cup winner, as he continues to produce at least one big save in every game that proves to be pivotal to the outcome. On Sunday, he stepped up when needed to deny Bournemouth from close-range on several occasions in a Player of the Match performance.
Watkins leaves it late but produces decisive moment
After the anxious wait to see if he would even be involved on Sunday, Watkins produced a big moment to score our second equaliser and secure the draw.
It was a stunning headed finish from the 27-year-old, as he made it 13 goals and eight assists in 21 games in all competitions so far this season, as he showed exactly why he’s so important for us in the final third.
He wasn’t quite at his best over the course of the encounter, but when we needed him to make the difference, he did exactly that. Hopefully, he’s come through unscathed and will be fully fit for the week ahead.
Tielemans-Luiz midfield partnership falls short, Kamara presence missed
While this isn’t to say that it can’t work in different circumstances and against alternative opposition, this wasn’t the game for Emery to go with a Youri Tielemans-Douglas Luiz midfield duo.
Boubacar Kamara’s presence was undoubtedly missed, as we lacked balance in midfield and the defensive protection in front of the backline needed to stifle or even nullify Bournemouth’s quick transitions.
Both Tielemans and Luiz add technical ability and class in possession, but as a partnership, Villa’s midfield was often overrun or bypassed, as seen with Bournemouth’s second goal, as they went from a defensive headed clearance to a goal within a couple of touches and 20 seconds.
Villa had no foothold in midfield and that had a knock-on effect to our play in both phases, and so John McGinn was, and is, arguably the better option to slot in alongside Luiz when Kamara is unavailable.
Big week for Villa ahead, step up needed
While there will be disappointment with the performance, the fact that Villa were able to salvage a point was crucial in terms of our momentum and belief going into two difficult games.
We face Manchester City on Wednesday night before Arsenal visit us on Saturday, and what is clear is that we can’t afford to play at the same level against these two sides.
Our home form has been exceptional, and so the expectation is that we will be a real challenge for both title contenders. However, we have to tighten things up at the back as a priority, and in turn put our attacking players in a position to go and win the game rather than having to claw us back into the encounter.