Aston Villa’s run in the Carabao Cup came to an end in midweek after we suffered a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on a disappointing night at Villa Park.
Eberechi Eze gave the visitors an early lead, but after Jhon Duran drew us level shortly after, it was hoped that it would inspire a comeback to ensure we booked our spot in the next round.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s cup defeat to Crystal Palace
Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case as Daichi Kamada’s winner sealed our fate as we crashed out of the competition in disappointing fashion once again after last year’s home defeat to Everton, and so that is one less pathway in trying to end our wait for silverware.
Villa’s focus will now switch to three difficult away games before the international break, as we face Tottenham, Club Brugge and Liverpool over the course of six days across the Premier League and Champions League.
Big opportunity missed, more cup frustration
Given the Carabao Cup offers the shortest path to get to a trophy, this really felt like a missed opportunity again as we had the chance to reach the quarter-finals and put ourselves in the mix in the latter stages of the competition to try and win some silverware.
Ultimately though, we weren’t able to take advantage of another favourable home draw after losing to Everton last season, and it is a source of real frustration despite all the positives that we’ve enjoyed over the past two campaigns.
The performance was simply too flat and sloppy to deserve anything other than the eventual outcome, and so if we want to seriously compete for trophies moving forward, we have to learn from these setbacks and disappointments and not simply repeat our mistakes. The Premier League and Champions League are of course our priorities, but this defeat stings.
No complaints over Emery team selection
Given our starting XI, there are no complaints over Unai Emery’s team selection, as the Villa boss went with a strong line-up that had enough experience and quality to get the job done as we showed respect to the competition and opposition.
Admittedly, making so many changes likely contributed to our disjointed display and lack of rhythm and cutting edge, but it was still a strong side that should have done better, while also giving those who have been sidelined for significant periods to get back to full fitness.
What makes the result even more frustrating is that we have the squad depth and competition now to be able to compete on multiple fronts and give those fringe players a chance to play regularly with deep cup runs, but that won’t happen in the Carabao Cup.
Huge boost getting Tyrone Mings back
It was great to welcome Mings back to the Villa XI after over a year out due to injury, and he showed just how big of a presence he will be for us in the backline in the coming weeks and months to give Emery another important option.
He made a number of key defensive interventions to keep it tight at the back, while he was constantly barking out orders and organising the defence and demanding more from his teammates.
Aside from being delighted to return to the fold, it was an important 90-minute run-out for him, and he’ll hopefully feel much fitter and sharper as a result, and ready to come in when needed moving forward.
Boubacar Kamara finding his groove already
While Kamara has benefited from a gradual increase in his workload having come on from the bench in recent games, he looked like himself in this encounter as it went on and he began to find his rhythm.
Whether it was a perfectly-timed sliding tackle to regain possession or a classy drop of the shoulder and burst to get away from his man, the Frenchman was looking as silky as he used at times and that will be a massive boost for us.
He was influential in our goal too as he showed all his attributes by winning the ball and releasing it quickly to set us off in attack, and so despite the huge disappointment surrounding the result, the positive of getting Kamara and Mings back will potentially outweigh it.
Nedeljkovic puts in positive shift, Diego Carlos…not so much
It’s been difficult for Kosta Nedeljkovic to get much of a look in so far this season due to the competition for places, but the talented youngster produced a good performance in this game to stake his claim for more involvement moving forward.
His energy, tenacity and ability to inject impetus and drive into our play is impressive, and on a flat night at Villa Park, he was able to lift the crowd at times whether it was through a heavy, but fair, tackle, or a burst forward with his pace.
In contrast, it wasn’t a good night for Diego Carlos, as it was his mistake that led to Palace’s winner as he struggled for the most part. The Brazilian centre-half has enjoyed a good run over the last few games, but if he can’t get rid of this habit of making costly errors, he’s a vulnerability that we can’t afford to keep starting.