Aston Villa were forced to settle with a draw against West Ham on Sunday afternoon, with the match displaying one of the key frailties in Unai Emery’s squad.
Aston Villa will be more relieved than West Ham to walk away from East London with a point.
The Villans were eager to get a result in the capital after Tottenham’s defeat to Fulham meant that Ange Postecoglou’s side had failed to take control of the top-four race.
Unfortunately, Villa weren’t able to extend their lead over Spurs by more than a point after what was an overall poor performance against the Hammers.
Aston Villa struggled in one key area against West Ham
While the visitors dominated 70% of possession, it was David Moyes’ side that looked to be the most threatening on the day.
Unai Emery watched on as his team found great difficulty in building anything substantial from their play in the first half in particular, as the Villans looked jaded all over the pitch.
Speaking on the Claret and Blue Podcast, pundit Matt Lynch highlighted one of the key “frailties” in Emery’s project as a weakness that has been traceable all season.
“I think it’s become apparent throughout the season but it genuinely feels like every goal at the moment is coming from a set-piece scenario or close to, I think today especially it shows the frailties.”
“It’s just poor defending when it comes to these set pieces and we come unstuck week after week.”
Lynch was also quick to criticise Villa’s back line for their lack of support for Emi Martinez when it came to the sequence of play that ended in Michail Antonio’s opener.
“Every time that Antonio was stood on the toes of Martinez, not one of Villa’s defenders has opted to go over there and support him and in the end, it’s led to a goal.”
Aston Villa must improve their set-piece defending
While Antonio’s goal didn’t come directly from a set-piece, the chances that the Irons had on Sunday from dead-ball situations were concerning from a Villa point of view.
Alarmingly, the statistics support Lynch’s right to be angered by the Villans’ lack of cohesion when defending set-pieces, with only Luton Town, Burnley and Nottingham Forest conceding more goals from set-play this season in the Premier League.
The figures are concerning considering that the three sides are all strong candidates for relegation to the Championship this campaign, reinforcing just how bad Emery’s side has been at protecting their goal at times this term.
If Villa are hoping to secure a place in the top four, their quality must improve in such areas if they are to prepare to compete against Europe’s elite.
