Aston Villa battled back to secure a 1-1 draw at West Ham Utd on Sunday, with Nicolo Zaniolo scoring the all-important equaliser.
After making a bright start to the encounter, Villa became increasingly careless and sloppy at both ends of the pitch, and we were subsequently punished after conceding the opener.
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While there was an immediate scare after the break as the Hammers had a goal disallowed, Villa began to improve as the second half went on and found a breakthrough through Zaniolo.
The drama continued to the full-time whistle though as the hosts had another goal disallowed in injury time, as Villa emerged from the contest with a point that moves us three points ahead of Tottenham, nine above Man Utd, but with both having a game in hand as we continue to fight for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
Wrong initial set-up from Villa?
Emery initially opted to go with an attacking line-up with Jhon Duran partnering Ollie Watkins up top, while Your Tielemans was deployed in central midfield alongside Douglas Luiz in two key decisions.
While the early signs were promising as we settled well and dictated possession, it soon became apparent that the balance was off and West Ham started to take control before breaking the deadlock.
Rotation and specific game-plans will dictate that changes are needed, but certain tweaks haven’t worked for us. Whether that’s Ezri Konsa at right-back or Tielemans in that deeper role, it has looked awkward and off-balance in recent times, and hopefully Emery has the answers he needed to move away from that in the coming weeks and months.
Villa looked much-improved with Matty Cash at right-back and Konsa in the middle partnering Pau Torres, Diaby supporting Watkins and perhaps Tim Iroegbunam was the right option in central midfield. Time will tell what the XI looks like against Wolves after the break.
Emery changes crucial in salvaging point
That said, the Villa boss deserves credit for the changes he made from half-time onwards, as that changed the rhythm and flow of the game in our favour.
Further, Zaniolo, Moussa Diaby and Matty Cash were all highly influential to the outcome with their goal, assist and crucial block, and so the tweaks from Emery were decisive.
He’s been superb with his preparation for almost the entirety of his reign thus far, but he’s also shown how good his in-game management is to tweak things when necessary.
Diaby starting to make decisive impact more consistently
That’s now two hugely significant assists in the last three league outings for the French playmaker, who also produced the moment of quality that led to Lucas Digne’s winner at Luton.
Coupled with his goal against Ajax, Diaby is starting to now find some form again, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as we approach the crunch period of the season.
Having also been recalled to the France squad, he’s hopefully going from strength to strength now and can return to the Villa starting line-up as a key figure in the side.
Zaniolo makes his mark with key contribution
It’s been a struggle for the 24-year-old this season as he hasn’t met the expectations and hopes that we had when he arrived last summer.
He’s managed just three goals and no assists in 32 appearances across all competitions, but his two Premier League goals have been vital as he’s earned us draws against Sheffield Utd and West Ham after coming off the bench.
Similarly to Diaby, but with the expectation that he may not sign permanently at the end of the season regardless, it’s hoped Zaniolo now starts to find better form on a consistent basis to offer us an important option as we look to compete on two fronts.
Positive week, big charge after the break
Last weekend’s defeat to Tottenham was a real blow, but it was fundamental that we bounced back and showed character in the games that followed this past week,
We’ve seen that with a comprehensive win over Ajax before a battling draw at West Ham, and so we’ve put ourselves in an excellent position now coming out of the international break.
What separates the good teams from the elite, who are able to compete for major honours, is how they finish the season. Emery’s been in plenty of crunch games at this time of year for most of his career, and it’s hoped that we can enjoy similar success to what the Spaniard has previously experienced with a big charge to end the year.
