Having gone into Saturday’s encounter with Tottenham knowing we needed a win to keep our European hopes alive, Aston Villa delivered a big performance.
Goals from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz sealed the three points, and despite a nervy end after a contentious late Harry Kane penalty, Villa held on and moved level on points with Spurs in seventh place.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in reaction to Villa’s crucial win over Tottenham
With tough games against Liverpool and Brighton still to come, Villa still have a big task ahead to secure European football for next season, but ultimately this weekend was about winning and taking it into those final two games, and we successfully did that.
Villa’s level had dropped over the past four games with tiredness seemingly becoming a more pressing concern, but Unai Emery got the response and performance he wanted this weekend, and it’s now full focus on our trip to Anfield.
Great intensity, intent to start the game and connection with fans
One criticism of our recent performances has been that we’ve perhaps been a little slow out of the blocks and not adapted well enough to the tempo and intensity of games.
That certainly wasn’t the case in this one as we showed great energy from the first minute to apply pressure, force Spurs into mistakes and win back possession quickly to then start another attack.
What that also did was immediately give the supporters something to feed off and vice versa, and it created a brilliant atmosphere at Villa Park. While Emery has done an incredible job in terms of coaching this squad up, he’s also rebuilt that connection with the Villa fans and it’s evident at every game and is becoming a key factor.
Defence deserves real credit, offside trap
Emery spoke in midweek about having his defenders watch how Real Madrid dealt with Erling Haaland in their Champions League clash and how they could apply that to nullifying Kane’s threat.
It certainly worked as we kept Tottenham’s talisman quiet for the most part, as well as Son and Richarlison, in what was a brilliant defensive display that showed discipline, concentration and quality.
Our midfield played their part too and while it was really impressive to see our work off the ball and how we won possession back quickly time and time again, Spurs were also caught offside nine times as we played the high line superbly.
McGinn brilliant
What a shift from the Villa captain. John McGinn was quite literally everywhere in this game as he got stuck into the midfield scrap to give us a foothold and control, while he also dropped deeper and helped limit Kane’s influence.
Even with a relatively early yellow card, he continued to impose himself with his energy, tenacity and work ethic, and although his offensive contribution was perhaps a little more limited, he played a pivotal role in the win.
When McGinn’s in this form, he not only sets the tone and standard for others to match, but he gives license and confidence to the likes of Luiz and Ramsey to get forward and have more freedom to impact the game.
Huge win, developing winning habit against top sides
While it’s clear that Spurs are struggling at the moment, it’s still important for us to develop a winning habit against the top sides in the league.
If we want to compete with them and ultimately surpass them, we have to start building that confidence and belief that anytime we play them, we have the ability to get three points.
We’ve seen it against a number of the usual top six this season under Emery that we’re capable of it, and it will hopefully be a timely boost heading to Anfield next weekend too.
European hopes still alive
It’s still going to be incredibly difficult and we of course need results elsewhere to go our way too, but as Emery noted after the game, his dream is to take this into the final game of the season against Brighton at home.
While fifth place may well be out of reach by Monday night, we’re absolutely in the hunt for sixth or seventh but need Tottenham and Brighton to slip up.
As has been the message from Emery and the Villa players in recent weeks though, it’s just about focusing on ourselves and getting two wins to finish the season to control what we can rather than be distracted by results around us.
It would be a deserved and exciting reward if we did ultimately secure a European spot given the turnaround we’ve had under Emery, and so it’s hoped a win at Anfield next weekend will set up a thrilling final weekend of the season.