A worrying sign for Villa?
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00:00On to Aston Villa, obviously you were there at the Spurs ground. What was the take from
00:07that game? Was there some concern, how they capitulated completely? Spurs do have that
00:14in them, obviously with some inconsistency at times, but they do have that in them to
00:18go and really hurt teams with their fierce attack and their relentless high pressure
00:24and the way they sit high up the pitch. Was there concerns and what was Emre's reaction
00:29to that loss? I think there was a lot of concern from the fan base and rightfully so
00:34to be honest, because they did capitulate in that second half. In the first half it
00:38was very even Stevens, not really many chances on either end and Morgan Rodgers scoring that
00:43opening goal from the only shot on target of the entire half. You go into the second
00:47half thinking, OK, we just need to hold on to this now, sit deep, be patient, just as
00:51they were in the first half, but they looked completely different, Villa. They didn't have
00:55any real concentration. It took four minutes for Brennan Johnson to equalise and then there
00:59was an injury for Matty Cash, went off with a calf problem. Diego Carlos came on, Ezra
01:04Combs had moved over to right back and the whole shape of the back line just went completely.
01:09The offside trap was really effective before that point. Suddenly that went out the window.
01:14On the overlap with Richarlison coming on for Youngmin Son, Son having the first cross
01:19as well for the Brennan Johnson goal. Just so open in behind and I know Villa like to
01:24play a high line and it's risky at times, but it normally works with that offside trap.
01:28It just didn't in that second half at Spurs. Carlos out of position for the second and
01:33third Spurs goals and then for the fourth, James Maddison's free kick. He gave away that
01:38free kick in a very dangerous area. So a pretty terrible performance off the bench from Carlos.
01:43He's been very inconsistent, sometimes brilliant, sometimes terrible. I think Villa will be
01:47a little bit concerned that someone like Matty Cash, he's not the best player at the club,
01:51him coming off. How can it have such an impact? Well, it did and it cost a defeat at Tottenham.
01:58Yeah, just a bit of a look at their fixtures coming up. A few Champions League games in
02:02Liverpool, you know, Crystal Palace obviously at home, but then Chelsea away as well in that
02:07time frame. The fixtures aren't going to get easier right now for Villa. It's important they respond.
02:12It is important. The club bruised one away in the Champions League. There's not as much pressure on
02:17that having started so well, three wins out of three, but they want to continue that. If they
02:21can make it four wins out of four, that'll make it take off the pressure so much later on in that
02:26Champions League campaign. You're not guaranteeing top eight with that by any means, but you're
02:30pretty much secured into the playoff positions. And then you can look on to maybe qualify in the
02:35top eight from that point after. It's a tough game against Juventus still to be played. So
02:39still a long way to go in that. Liverpool away, top of the league, looking pretty unstoppable
02:44unless you're Nottingham Forest with that surprise 1-0 win at Anfield. That's going to be very
02:49difficult for Villa to bounce back in that one. And then Crystal Palace at home, well, you'd think
02:53really a winnable game there, but Palace came to Villa Park in the cup and they won. That was a bit
02:58of a surprise result. Could they try and do it again, replicate their game plan, switch things up?
03:03They can be a banana skin team. We've seen that in the past. So of course, at the end of last season
03:07as well, a 5-0 thrashing away at Selhurst Park. I don't think Unai Emery would be looking forward
03:11to that one at all.