Aston Villa dropped more valuable points in the Premier League on Saturday.
This is now proving to be a worrying set of performances from Unai Emery’s side because they haven’t won in six matches in all competitions.
Emery was hoping the international break would help his team recharge and reset, but Villa’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace stated otherwise.
Only a number of weeks ago, Palace beat Villa in the EFL Cup, so the signs were there that the home team needed to do better.
But inside five minutes, Ismaila Sarr was running through on goal and opening the scoring, as the opposition exposed the huge gap in front of Aston Villa’s defence.
Ollie Watkins equalised for the home team after a well-worked goal and Youri Tielemans’ penalty save was punished when Justin Devenny put his team back ahead just before the break.
From a defensive aspect, Villa’s problems reared their ugly heads again, including conceding from fast breaks, before Ross Barkley equalised in the second half for the point.
Oliver Glasner told his Crystal Palace players that Aston Villa’s style suits his team
Emery has faced Oliver Glasner three times, losing twice, including conceding five on the final day of last season and picking up a point in the most recent match.
The issue here is Glasner’s post-match comments and how Villa, once again, played into their hands and the opposition manager knew it would happen.
Yes, Villa are missing Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara – their two defensive midfielders – but it shouldn’t be an excuse for how the team is performing.
As posted by Jacob Tanswell on Twitter, Glasner stated that Villa’s style fits us ‘perfectly’ because of how they ‘leave space’ and that was constantly exposed by Sarr, especially on the break.
They leave space and we knew we had a 2v1 (Sarr and Munoz) down that side and we always wanted to attack the gaps.”
After 12 matches, the Midlands side have conceded 19 – only five more teams have shipped more.
But, as posted by Aston Villa Statto, in 2024 alone, the team have conceded 53 Premier League goals, that’s five more than they did in 2023. And that says it all, to be honest.
Leave a Reply