On a frustrating afternoon at the City Ground on Sunday, Aston Villa fell to a 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest to end our impressive recent form.
Goals from Ola Aina and Orel Mangala at the start of either half ensured we returned home empty-handed, as we were unable to find a way back into the game and take anything from it.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa defeat at Nottingham Forest
It’s a disappointing end to our positive run of form in recent weeks, but with AZ Alkmaar and Fulham ahead this week in the Europa Conference League and Premier League respectively, we’ll have to regroup and bounce back quickly to ensure a minor blip doesn’t turn into a bigger dip in form.
Disappointment amplified having fallen short of standard under Emery
Given how impressive we’ve been for the most part this season and the standard we’re looking to set having put together so many positive results, the disappointment when we drop points always seems amplified.
That’s testament to how far we’ve come in a year under Emery, but it’s crucial that having set that standard, we continue to maintain it if we wish to compete at the top level.
Result aside, it was the performance that was particularly disappointing as we made mistakes to concede goals and were wasteful in attack, and so it was an opportunity missed.
Wasteful Villa spurn big chance to extend form
Villa had 10 shots on goal and 73 percent of possession, but we were unable to convert that into goals as we had chances to get back into the game and set up a strong finish.
That lack of quality and ruthlessness in the final third hurt us, especially given we were chasing and Forest continued to defend deep, and so we simply had to be clinical when those opportunities came our way.
We’ve been excellent so far this season in front of goal, and so hopefully our execution and decision-making will be much better next time out.
Emery with plenty to analyse to find solutions
While it’s never nice to suffer defeat, it’s also an opportunity to regroup, reflect and analyse where we can still be better.
Emery is meticulous in his preparation, and he’ll undoubtedly have a lot to scour over in this performance to ensure we learn from our mistakes to improve as we continue to encounter similar problems on the road, particularly when we fall behind.
We’ve had setbacks since he was appointed, with defeats to Newcastle Utd and Liverpool this season obvious examples, and we’ll hope to bounce back in strong fashion this week.
Rare Martinez mistake, Villa profligacy a reminder of small margins
We’re used to seeing Emiliano Martinez make decisive saves that influence the final outcome, and so it came as a real shock to see him make a mistake that cost us.
The World Cup winner won’t need anyone to tell him that he should have done better to prevent the second Forest goal, and it was a key moment in the encounter as we had a long way back from that point onwards.
Nevertheless, add the mistakes in the final third in the last 30 minutes in terms of our decision-making, and it was below-par performance across the board that was duly punished.
Zaniolo still searching for decisive touch
“Sometimes his mind, he has to be 100% free to play. At the moment, we are going with him and using him in one position he can play but not his best position. But he’s helping us. I want to give him minutes to understand his teammate,” Emery said of the Italian international after the game.
Although there were positives in that Nicolo Zaniolo got into dangerous areas and found pockets of space to offer a threat, he is still missing that end product to make a decisive impact.
As a key piece in our attacking play, we need him to contribute and add a different dynamic to our attack, but it’s clear he still has the faith and trust of Emery, and hopefully he’ll end his barren run sooner rather than later to reinforce his importance to this team.