Four things we learned after Aston Villa threw away a big opportunity to all but secure Champions League football in a 4-0 battering against Spurs.
Unai Emery’s side were humiliated at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon as a second-half collapse saw the visitors cruise to a victory.
James Maddison’s and Brennan Johnson’s two quickfire goals just after half-time put Spurs in control. John McGinn then seemingly lost his head as he picked up a red card for a terrible challenge on the halfway line.
Heung-min Son and Timo Werner then piled on the misery in added time to close the gap to two points on Villa with a game in hand.
Now, after the dust has settled, we examine four things we learned for the tie.
Defensive fragilities
Aston Villa once again showed how weak they can be at the back. Despite all of the success this season, their defensive fragilities have caused them all sorts of problems.
This has mainly been highlighted throughout 2024. Emery’s side have conceded two or more goals in four of their seven Premier League games this calendar year.
In this time, they have also only kept two clean sheets in the division, against Everton and Sheffield United.
As a result, the club has often had to rely on its attack to get the result. This was evident in their last two league games against Forest and Luton where they conceded twice in both games and almost threw away the result.
While Emery tried to go to a back five to re-secure his defence, this did not work and his side was humiliated at Villa Park.
John McGinn fails to step up
After a poor start to the second half, Villa found themselves 2-0 down. This is the point many of the first-team players will look to their captain to help them get back into the game.
Instead, McGinn got himself sent off for a ridiculous challenge. In the middle of the park, the Spurs player wasn’t going anywhere but the midfield completely took him out and seemed to completely lose his head.
The red card was the final nail in the coffin and gave the hosts no real way to get back into the game. As a result, the scoreline only got worse with a 4-0 loss having the potential to have a real impact at the end of the season if goal difference comes into play.
Europa Conference League fatigue?
While the performance was dire, it did seem many of the Villa players were tired. As the game went on, the hosts only looked worse as Spurs became more and more dominant.
Whether this was a result of their recent 0-0 draw away to Ajax in the Conference League, or just a result of their recent games.
Many players at the club may well be looking forward to the international break coming later this month. This could give the players a much-needed rest.
Fourth place out of reach?
The result could well be damning for Aston Villa. Spurs are now only two points behind with a game in hand. The Londoners are also out of any other competitions and only have to focus on the league.
This could well put fourth place out of reach for Villa. The club still have to face four of the ‘big six’ in their remaining 10 league games. On top of this, they face tough away games to West Ham and Brighton as well as a derby against Wolves.
With this topped with potential Europa Conference League games, a fifth-place finish may be Villa’s most realistic position come the end of the season to achieve Champions League football.
