Aston Villa boss Unai Emery praised our resilience as we were able to salvage a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins twice drew us level at the Vitality Stadium, but it was a disappointing performance from Villa given the high standard we’re capable of playing at.
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There was a continuation of some recurring issues away from home, as we conceded early again and it was compounded by the fact that it came from a sloppy mistake at the back.
However, we certainly didn’t play with the level of control and composure that we’ve seen from this side over the past year, and while Bournemouth deserve credit for that too, Emery would surely have been frustrated with our struggles over the course of the 90 minutes.
Nevertheless, he was ultimately pleased with the point after Watkins scored late to salvage a draw, and so in that regard, it’s an important result as we found a way to get something from the game even though we were far from our best.
Emery was keen to praise that element of the display and reiterated it in his post-match interviews, stressing the fact that it was positive that we were able to come from behind and get a draw.
“We wanted to win but at the end the point is good for us,” he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. “We started by making a mistake but we reacted well and had a goal disallowed by VAR.
“We reacted again to going behind and this is not an easy point to get, it was a very tough match and we can feel that this point is a positive.
“We struggled in moments and we were resilient. We tried to get on the ball and score and we did that. This point is not the best but it is not the worst.
“It’s a good point. We were aware it would be difficult to get a victory today.
“The point is good for us when you are losing a match. We will try to use this point. We prefer to control the game but it was not easy, they had very good chances and our goalkeeper was fantastic.”
What is clear now though ahead of a big week for us with games against Manchester City and Arsenal at home, is that we have to be much, much better than what we showed on Sunday if we are to get anything from either encounter.
It was crucial to avoid defeat this weekend to keep our momentum going, and a late equaliser will certainly have buoyed the squad given it looked like we were heading for a bitterly disappointing loss.
In turn, it’s hoped that we raise our level this week, and continue what has been a very positive campaign thus far.
“It’s not the worst result but it’s not the best result,” Emery later added, when speaking to VillaTV. “In 90 minutes with the way we played and the demands they made of us, I think it’s a good point.
“We have to accept it and continue trying to build a team. We are in our process and now we have 29 points. We were losing 2-1 at the end and we drew. It’s important to feel it’s a good point. We’re thankful to our supporters for being here with us, and now we’re excited to play again on Wednesday at home with them, trying to continue being strong like we are.
“We never give up. It’s very important to keep being consistent when we were losing.
“We analysed a lot the match we lost against Nottingham Forest and how we managed our emotions in 90 minutes. We conceded two goals in the first half and second half at the beginning and today we made the same mistake at the beginning when they scored.
“We have to be always passionate and consistent in our progress. We can concede some mistakes and goals, but we always have to be strong in our mind. Our reaction today was fantastic. We didn’t give up when we were struggling. They had some chances to score but we were always strong, trying to take our opportunity.
“When we scored the second goal it was fantastic, an amazing goal. We have to accept this draw.”
