Aston Villa fell to a 4-1 loss to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday after a second-half collapse, ending a disappointing week for Unai Emery and the players.
After being held by Bournemouth, we crashed out of the Carabao Cup in midweek, and so this defeat in north London wrapped up a frustrating run of results with more difficult tests to come prior to the international break.
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Morgan Rogers had given Villa the lead in the first half, but after the hosts struck back early in the second, it was one-way traffic from that point onwards as they stormed into the lead and deserved securing all three points.
Villa will now look to bounce back at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday before heading to Anfield to face Liverpool this weekend.
Good and bad of Villa approach on display either side of half-time
Villa produced a strong defensive display in the first half, as we ultimately limited Spurs to very little and looked organised and robust in our structure and shape.
That in turn set the foundation for us to take the lead and to get a foothold in the game, so there were plenty of positives to take from the opening 45 minutes.
However, it was clear that we needed to improve in possession to make it a sustainable strategy otherwise we would struggle, and as that failed to materialise, it led to Tottenham building sustained pressure, showing their quality and capitalising on our mistakes to complete their second-half comeback.
Our changes didn’t work on this occasion, and that in turn led to the game becoming increasingly open and a back-and-forth encounter, and as it often does, that suited our opponents more than us.
Passive display not sustainable?
As we look to compete on multiple fronts again this season, it’s clear that we’re taking a more controlled and prudent approach to conserve our energy and avoid burning ourselves out as we go through taxing week after taxing week, both physically and mentally.
It has worked previously as we play within ourselves but find ways to win games with the attacking quality we possess, but this week will raise question marks over whether or not that will ultimately prove to be a successful approach in the long run.
Given our inability to consistently keep clean sheets, it feels like a risky strategy as opposed to being more on the front foot and trying to dictate play when possible, and so hopefully we see a return to that mindset and tactical gameplan moving forward.
Right-back solution needed without Cash
While Tottenham’s comeback started prior to his injury, losing Matty Cash on the hour mark was a big moment in the game as it did feel as though the floodgates were opened and we were disorganised at the back.
Emery opted to bring on Diego Carlos and shifted Ezri Konsa across to right-back, and while that option will still perhaps be favoured by many, Villa surely have to stop that reshuffle and play one of our best players in Konsa, in his favoured and most effective position, which is as a centre-half.
Kosta Nedeljkovic remains inexperienced, but ultimately he needs playing time to mature and develop, and essentially to prove whether or not he can be a viable long-term solution. Villa signed him for a reason, so why not play him if Cash is sidelined again due to injury, before we get to a stage where we may end up delving into the transfer market for another right-back instead.
Errors continue to cost Villa
Taking nothing away from Tottenham as they did produce quality in the final third in the second half to prise us open, but there were clearly a string of errors that aided them in producing their comeback.
Whether it was Lucas Digne not tracking Brennan Johnson at the back post to deny his tap-in for the equaliser, Pau Torres gifting possession away for the third or more general sloppiness in possession which made our task even more difficult, Villa lacked sharpness and accuracy throughout.
It’s a common trend as we do tend to concede soft goals with an element of our errors contributing to the situation, and so we must improve both individually and collectively to become a more difficult side to break down on a consistent basis.
Big reaction needed this week with fresh intensity
As noted above, it’s been a bitterly disappointing week given our results over the last three games, and so now a big reaction is needed prior to the international break to get back on track.
That doesn’t just extend to results against Club Brugge and Liverpool either, as we must now start getting back to our best level in terms of performance, with energy, intensity and urgency to start imposing ourselves on games more effectively again and being effective in our way.
Naturally, we’ll go through spells where we do need to dig in and focus on being solid defensively, but those are specific periods in games rather than for the entirety of it, and hopefully we’ll see a more positive and front-foot display in midweek to get us going.