Aston Villa is still two points off third place in the Premier League table, where they began play on Sunday.
Despite the disappointment of not finishing in the top four, Unai Emery’s team has had an extremely strong start to the season despite the loss at Nottingham Forest. Villa was defeated by goals at the beginning of each half as they travelled across the Midlands in an attempt to win four games in a row across all competitions.
Given their recent streak of goals scored without assistance, Villa’s performance wasn’t inherently bad. They had enough chances to win the game, and they could have prevented both of the goals they gave up for various reasons. Nevertheless, Villa were most likely due
A DOZEN DOSE OF REALITY EMERY
Usually upbeat following a loss—after all, there haven’t been many losses lately—Emery anticipates a reaction from his team. After the half, he asserted that he finds out whether Villa wins, draws, or loses.
The travelling band of supporters gathered behind the goal in the Bridgford Stand was filled with frustration, but Emery was quick to issue a calm order despite his team’s failure to break into the top four for the second time in as many months after they also lost points at Wolves last month.
He said to Sky Sports, “It is very hard to accept the result.” “We weren’t perfect. Despite our early loss, we played well for the next 80 minutes in an effort to try and score.
“They scored another early goal in the second half. After that, we were in charge of the match, making opportunities and obtaining advantages. It is extremely challenging when the opposing team scores first. They vigorously defended. With 22 points and a fifth-place finish in the league, we would undoubtedly do better if we could pick up three more points today. I was extremely proud of the players before this game, and I still am.
We saw this game as an opportunity to advance to the top four teams; however, we were unable to do so, and we still have work to do in order to try and address the mistakes we made today.
WHAT EMERY CRIED OVER PAU
Emery claimed Villa dominated the game for eighty minutes. Although he was correct, Forest didn’t care. They set up with excellent organisation and packed numbers behind the ball, which stopped Villa from playing fluid football.
Pau Torres, as we all know, is essential to Villa’s build-up and consequently the team’s capacity to advance possession. Ten minutes or so after trailing, Emery yelled at Torres to try to move the ball to Matty Cash on the right rather than focusing solely on making deft forward passes.
For the first fifteen minutes of the match, Forest was at ease in their low block and Villa’s play patterns were predictable. Villa was able to create space and opportunities after Torres started to spread the ball around. Torres’ first switch to Cash in the 23rd minute was followed by a series of corners, but Villa’s goalkeeping was subpar the entire game.
ZANIOLO DIFFICULTY
Despite Leon Bailey’s impressive form, Nicolo Zaniolo has started six of Villa’s last seven league games, and it looks that Zaniolo is keeping Bailey out of the starting lineup. Emery obviously has faith in Zaniolo’s ability to pose challenges for opposing defences.
“Zaniolo is adjusting well,” Emery stated following a full-time game. Naturally, there are times when his unique circumstances are for him alone. He believes that in order to try to play, he must attempt to be completely free. That’s what we’re aiming for.
We are getting along well with him right now. He serves only one purpose for us. Though it’s not his ideal position, he is still assisting us. I want to raise his game with us, give him more time to get to know his teammates, make him feel comfortable playing with us, and gradually help him forget his past issues.
DIABY’S HONOURABLE Opinion
Following his recent victory over Luton Town, where he was named man of the match, Forest made every effort to neutralise Moussa Diaby’s threat. When he found Zaniolo inside the box towards the end of the first period, he should have received an assist, but the Italian blew the chance with a bad first touch.
Regarding Villa’s loss, Diaby said in an interview with Premier League Productions: “Today was not a good game. We attempted to respond after giving up the first goal too soon, but we gave up another early goal in the second half. This is a tough place to come back from a 2-0 deficit.
We need to stay focused and keep working towards the next match. Nottingham Forest’s defence was strong. Although we counterattack very quickly, their strong defence made it difficult to find a gap.
“We need to put in some effort and figure out the next game’s solutions. When you play away, things are never easy. We play at home on Thursday, and we need to win so that we can feel more confident going into the next Premier League match.
Caidan was invited by Cooper to meet his heroes.
After the game, 16-year-old Caiden Storry expressed his distress to Forest manager Steve Cooper in a press conference. The club had asked him to perform The Last Post prior to kickoff as a way to commemorate Remembrance Day. The audience and both sets of players applauded the young musician who played the bugle call so brilliantly, even though he struggled to hit the right notes at the end. Before the game started, players from Forest and Villa comforted the teenager.
Since then, Caiden—a City Ground season ticket holder—has received an invitation to meet his Forest heroes. Cooper remarked: “A 16-year-old fan should be extremely proud of himself and us for being able to stand in the middle of the pitch and perform that skillfully.” Given that they both have to perform and are familiar with the situation, it was encouraging to see how each group of players responded.
“I was able to speak with Caiden, and we will get in touch with him and take him to the practise pitch because I want him to see the players and realise how talented he was. “I apologise for that,” he said, and I responded,
The players and fans did an amazing job, and the Villa boys were fantastic. Caiden did an amazing job for us today, and I’m really proud of him for that.
