It's been difficult to criticise Aston Villa this season, but blowing a two-goal lead against Brentford inside nine second half minutes was inexcusable. Ollie Watkins and Unai Emery said as much after full-time , but despite immediate feelings of frustration following the 3-3 draw with the Bees, Villa remain in a fantastic position to achieve their goals this season. This is the business end to the campaign and while dropping two points is not ideal with only six league games left to play, Villa have already proven that they can react to setbacks. In fact, when Watkins scored the sixth goal of the game in the 80th minute on Saturday, it prevented Villa from losing back-to-back league games for the first time this season. It was also only the second time Villa have dropped points from a winning position this term, but worryingly, Emery's side remain without successive home league victories since beating Man City and
Arsenal just days apart back in December. Only the weeks ahead will tell us if Villa are able bounce back again or if their calamitous nine minutes on Saturday afternoon will leave lasting damage. READ | Unai Emery's every word as he owns up to 'mistake' and responds to Aston Villa suspension READ | John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after dramatic 3-3 draw vs Brentford Here are the talking points from Villa's draw... EMERY: VILLA MUST STAY BALANCED Emery drew a deep breath after sitting down for his press conference, clearly frustrated after watching his side give up two crucial points. He shouldered some of the blame for Brentford's remarkable recovery, suggesting he made a mistake which led to Sergio Reguilon enjoying the freedom of the left flank after Morgan Rogers had doubled Villa's lead. The Villa boss said during his press conference that he would rewatch the game four times over to understand how the Bees were allowed to completely flip the game from minute 59 to 68. "We played fantastic in the first half, fantastic and had control of the game," Emery told
Premier League Productions. "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. From the 59th 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." Ollie Watkins returned to the starting XI with two goals on Saturday (Image: Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) WATKINS: VILLA LACKED MATURITY On an afternoon of few positives for Villa, Watkins returning to the XI and scoring his 17th and 18th league goals of the season was certainly one. Watkins’ 28 goal involvements this term (18 goals, 10 assists) is the outright most by a Villa player in a single Premier League campaign. “Two-nil is always a dangerous scoreline,” he admitted to Sky Sports. “We came out in the second half and scored and then we seemed to relax as a team. I don't know if it's the scoreline or what but we always come out slow. I said to the boys at the start of the second half we need to start quick. "It's poor. It was too easy for them to get in and score. It's really disappointing because it could have been a really massive three points. We've been 2-0 up against
Manchester United away and conceded silly goals. We have done it here today. "We've got a point but it should have been three. These are the games we need to be winning. That's what the top team do. They finish it off, kill it off. They are smart. Maybe we just don't have that maturity yet or game intelligence." DEFENSIVE ISSUES LAID BARE While Villa have only won one of their last five Premier League games, the root cause of their problems has been obvious. They're conceding far too many goals. Since beating Fulham at Craven Cottage, Villa have shipped 16 goals in seven games and two or more in five of them. Ultimately, if Villa outscore their opponent then the amount of goals they concede over the course of the season doesn't really matter as a top five finish would prove that results are and have been sustainable. However, only on three occasions in the Premier League's 31-year history has a team finished in the top four having conceded more than 50 goals. With six games left to play, Villa have shipped 49, which is already three more than the whole of last season and in 2020/21. Only in one of the four seasons Villa have conceded more than 54 goals since achieving promotion in 2019. The loss of Boubacar Kamara is also a big contributing factor to Villa's defensive struggles. In the 20 Premier League appearances he made this season, Villa only conceded two or more goals on five occasions. In the 12 matches without him, Villa have kept one clean sheet - against a depleted Wolves side - and have conceded two or more goals in eight of those matches. LUIZ HANDED SUSPENSION After treading a disciplinary tightrope for 96 minutes, Douglas Luiz received his 10th caution of the season in the final moments after Brentford to compound Villa's frustrations. It was a tackle he felt like he had to make, which could have allowed Villa to spring their final attack of the game. Instead, he committed a foul and groans immediately rung around Villa Park. Fans knew what that meant and so did Luiz. He put his shirt over his face and was disconsolate after full-time. After referee Michael
Salisbury blew up for full-time, the midfielder took his shirt off and put it over his head as he stormed straight down the tunnel. He'll be a big miss for Villa in games against Arsenal (A) next Sunday and then Bournemouth (H) on Saturday, April 21. Luiz will likely start both Europa Conference League quarter-final legs against Lille. The 25-year-old was absent for the club's trip to Brentford back in December after he served a one-game suspension for collecting five yellow cards, but Villa won 2-1 late on after Ben Mee was shown a red card in the second half.
Champions League RACE Villa will find themselves out of the top four before facing Arsenal at the Emirates next weekend if
Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday night. There will be plenty of twists and turns to come in the race for Champions League qualification, but it still feels like Villa's destiny is in their own hands. After playing Arsenal, Villa have two crucial home games against Bournemouth and Chelsea. They might have to win both to finish above Spurs, who still have the likes of Newcastle (A), Arsenal (H),
Chelsea (A),
Liverpool (A) and Man City (H) still to play themselves. Meanwhile, it would take an almighty collapse from Villa and a brilliant run of form from Manchester United for Emery's side to drop out of the top five in the final weeks of the season. After the quarter-final ties are played across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, we will have a better idea whether or not
England will receive an extra ticket to UEFA's elite club competition. Currently, the odds are in England's favour, but this could change. Liverpool are expected to advance to the semi-finals of the Europa League by beating Atalanta across two legs, but Man City (vs Real Madrid), Arsenal (vs Bayern Munich), West Ham (vs Bayer Leverkusen) and Villa (vs Lille) all face tricky ties. Meanwhile, the other German club left in European competition, Borussia Dortmund, will play Atletico Madrid. Will Villa qualify for Champions League football? Tell us here Subscribe to Claret & Blue Welcome to Claret & Blue - An Aston Villa Podcast. Hosted by Dan Rolinson, Mat Kendrick & John Townley of Birmingham Live. On our
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