Aston Villa were left stunned by Tottenham on Sunday afternoon as the race for the top four took another turn as the Villans lost 4-0 at home, with one worrying element noticed by Richard Keys.
Aston Villa will want to both forget about Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham and work out exactly what went wrong at Villa Park.
Unai Emery watched on as his side was rocked by four second-half goals from the visitors as James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Heung-min Son and Timo Werner left Villa scarred after 90 minutes.
Prior to the fixture, captain John McGinn emphasised the importance of the matchup dubbing it one of the “most important” games in Villa’s recent history, with the match now written in history for less admirable reasons.
The result marked Emery’s joint-highest defeat at home in his managerial career, with the result not helped by McGinn’s sending-off in the 65th minute.
Despite going down to 10 men and conceding another two goals late on, the loss of McGinn arguably didn’t change the game’s trajectory as Spurs were wholeheartedly the better team on the day, raising questions over Villa’s preparation.
What Richard Keys said about Unai Emery after the Spurs defeat
Writing on his blog, presenter Richard Keys had a lot to say about Emery after Villa’s defeat, opening a conversation over the manager’s difficulty in getting results in big games.
“It [the result] had nothing to do with McGinn’s sending off. It had more to do with Emery getting it wrong in a big game again.”
“That’s a worrying trend if you’re a Villa fan. But that shouldn’t detract from Spurs’ performance. They were great in that second half.”
Aside from Keys’ comments, Emery has received criticism for his questionable selection decision, with the Spaniard opting to change the formation prior to the game against Tottenham.
Richard Keys raised an alarming point about Unai Emery’s record
While Villa have seen off the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester City already this season, the Villans have suffered a host of losses in the categorically ‘big games’ as well during Emery’s tenure.
Filtering in results against Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs, as well as Newcastle United, whom Villa have struggled against, tells a story of Emery’s shortfalls at Villa Park.
Since his arrival in October 2022, the manager has led his side to 10 defeats against the select opponents, with the more recent results perhaps the most alarming.
Keys’ comments could be seen as harsh considering that Villa are sat in fourth less than two years after being relegation candidates under Steven Gerrard however, there is some truth to his opinion.
In 2024, Villa have lost crucial games against Newcastle, Manchester United and Spurs, games that have limited their progression when it comes to extending their lead in fourth place.
Now, the gap has been narrowed to just two points and with Spurs having a game in hand, the ball is no longer in the Villans’ court with 10 games to go.
Only time will tell of the extent that the manager can lead his squad, with Champions League football having the potential to silence the doubters after Sunday’s damning result to the Lilywhites.
