Aston Villa dropped points in a 3-3 draw with Brentford on Saturday, and Unai Emery was left disappointed with our second-half collapse.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers put us 2-0 up after 47 minutes, but after conceding three poor goals in the space of nine minutes in the second half, the game was turned on its head.
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While Watkins bagged a brace and salvaged a point as Villa did well to recover and get something from the game, it doesn’t hide the disappointment over not sealing the win and solidifying our place in fourth spot in the Premier League table.
Unsurprisingly, Emery was disappointed with our inability to protect our lead and kill the game off, and we may well go on to rue this missed opportunity as we continue to fight for Champions League qualification.
However, as ever, the Villa boss offered a balanced assessment and took responsibility for our shortcomings, as he looks to correct our mistakes moving forward.
“Strange. We played very fantastic in the first half and very fantastic in the first part of the second half,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport. “In the 50th minute we lost everything we did. But in the last 20 minutes we recovered. Really I’m a little bit disappointed but at the same time I’m trying to understand and analyse in the 50th minute why we conceded three goals.
“It was really strange. We have to analyse. Tactically it is how we can manage that moment better, because it was not just one mistake. We can’t lose the control like we did in that moment.
“Of course I like the character we showed at the end of the match. But what I want is to be consistent. Of course it is the Premier League, if you are losing control or some focus, they will score. They were amazing in nine minutes scoring three goals. They were clinical as well.
“For me there is no pressure. We are enjoying. We’ve got to remember the first day, we played Newcastle and lost 5-1. Now we are fourth. Of course we are not as consistent as we were before. Maybe we lose the fourth position, maybe we lose the fifth position. But the most important thing now is to have to try to keep balanced.
“A lot of things. We played fantastic in the first half, fantastic. The control of the game.The second half we started with the second goal. We controlled the game like we did in the first half.
“In the 50th minute we lost control completely. It’s not normal. Maybe emotionally as well we were a little bit upset. We reacted very well, but they scored three goals in 10 minutes.
“I am very happy with the first 60 minutes and then how we reacted afterwards. But I have two sides. I am also a little bit negative because I can’t understand the result in 90 minutes.
“I have to accept the point and think where we are in the league.
“We have 60 points. I can be happy and I can see we are having a fantastic Premier League season. But we have to be demanding. The 50th minute today, we lost three goals.
“We want to keep the fourth position. But I have to understand we are not yet strong [enough] to compete. We have to keep going with our process. I am not a person who gives up. We have done fantastic. We have to keep balanced.
“We have to keep thinking we are at day one where we weren’t expected to be in the top seven. And now we have to keep that balance and be positive and be smart.”
Villa will get the chance to respond against Lille in the Europa Conference League next Thursday night, before we travel to Arsenal next weekend in the Premier League.
It promises to be another crucial week for our season, and although we’ve shown concerning signs in recent games in terms of defensive frailties and not showing the same control as we have done under Emery previously, these are the challenges that we must overcome to develop into a top side.
The Spanish tactician will no doubt meticulously analyse this game, address mistakes and correct them, but we must now finish the job and continue to pick up wins between now and the end of the season to ensure it doesn’t fall away.