Aston Villa fell to defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Unai Emery will undoubtedly be aware of a developing trend so far this season.
It was a disappointing setback given our form going into the encounter at the City Ground, and it was compounded by the fact that we were nowhere near our best, and had we been more ruthless, the result would most likely have been very different.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Villa suffer defeat after frustrating display
Nevertheless, it doesn’t undo all the positive work done so far this season, a point that Emery was keen to emphasise after the game as he continues to provide balance and calm regardless of the result, and it’s a lesson to be learned in our ongoing progression and development.
“I learn when we are winning, I learn when we draw and I learn when we are losing as well,” he told the media, as per BirminghamLive. “Today is one year since I arrived here. We have progressed and done a lot of work and I am proud of the players, but I want more. To increase the level is the next challenge I have.”
Part of increasing our level is to address flaws in the side, and one that is starting to emerge on a consistent basis is our inability to get back into games after conceding first.
Villa have yet to drop points when we’ve taken the lead in a game so far this campaign, but in the seven games across all competitions that we’ve fallen behind in, we’ve lost five, won one and drawn one.
Now, it certainly doesn’t help when we’ve conceded the first goal in the opening 15 minutes of a game on five different occasions, and that is ultimately a key moment as it shapes the structure and flow of the game thereafter.
Score first, and Villa are able to dictate tempo and possession, draw teams out, and play to our strengths to pick them apart.
Concede first, and we either get caught out ourselves by the likes of Newcastle Utd and Liverpool who exploit the gaps we leave behind, or against Everton in the Carabao Cup, Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League or Nottingham Forest on Sunday, teams sit back, soak up pressure and frustrate us as we probe for a breakthrough.
Mistakes then creep in and cost us, and so we can’t always be reliant on scoring that first goal and then taking control of proceedings from that point onwards.
We’ve shown in our win over Crystal Palace and the draw at Wolves that we are capable of fighting back and getting something from games when we go behind, but it’s a challenge to find consistency in producing that response, and showcasing the quality needed to unlock a stubborn defence with a ruthless and decisive performance in the final third.
As noted above, as disappointing and frustrating as Sunday’s loss was, we aren’t going to win every week and it’s important we learn from those setbacks to get better in the bigger picture and make them as rare as possible.
Conceding first on the road early though is problematic, and so we’ve got to be better in those initial stages on a consistent basis to ensure it isn’t a trend that drags on through the season.
Villa won’t win many games slowing the pace of play to a crawling walk , without any quick pacy counter attack football . Having a massive amount of ball possession does not add up to goals. Disappointed with number of players who seemed tired and nackerd . Doulas Louis falls over far too easy when tackled/ then doesn’t chase back rather stays on the floor waving his arms in the air. Martinez’s seems to be lackadaisical- 3 own goals in the last3 games together with soft goals doesn’t seem to be bothering him – perhaps he’s looking for a exit door , moving on to a more profitable bigger super club. Watkins is so hit and mostly miss and more often invisible – 2 sitters missed again.
No doubt Emeri will sort it out – but it needs to be fixed in the next transfer window in January on an urgent basis if Villa are to continue progress.