It was another frustrating afternoon for Aston Villa as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Out-fought, out-battled and ultimately out-classed for most of the contest, Aston Villa can have no complaints about the result.
Ollie Watkins was guilty of being wasteful in front of goal as Villa’s talisman missed two gilt-edged chances in the first half and displayed a lack of a ruthless edge.
Emi Martinez was also error-prone, and that was uncharacteristic of him after producing some world-class performances of late.
Martinez was taken off at half-time with an injury, which compounded Villa’s nightmare even further, with Emery confirming the Argentine had a hand issue post-match.
It’s now eight games without a win for Villa in all competitions however, captain John McGinn is still confident they can turn the situation around.
John McGinn still eyeing ‘special’ Aston Villa season
Aston Villa’s performance in West London was disappointing all round and McGinn was one of many players who looked off the pace.
Starting wide on the left, the Scotsman struggled to get into the game, making just 38 touches, one key pass and completing zero successful dribbles.
McGinn is aware that his side hasn’t been good enough recently but he also sent a defiant message after the game, claiming Villa can still achieve ‘something special’ this term.
“We went behind from a goal that will be painful for us to watch back,” McGinn told Sky Sports.
“We didn’t capitalise on our chances to equalises. We’re in a tough moment as a group so it’s important for us to stick together, don’t let what we have built break, take the responsibility, take the criticism that will probably come our way and look to Wednesday.
“We’ve still got an opportunity to do something really special this season. We have a game on Wednesday and then on Saturday so we have to turn it around quickly.”
McGinn says whether Champions League is affecting Aston Villa’s form
Last season, Newcastle United experienced a drop-off in their performance as they attempted to navigate through the Champions League.
Several pundits, including Jamie Carragher, warned Aston Villa could be like Newcastle and struggle to compete across both competitions.
Villa successfully juggled their European exertions last term, reaching the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League while finishing in the top four.
When asked whether the Champions League is affecting their form, McGinn said playing Thursday night and recovering for the weekend was more ‘difficult’ than their current schedule.
“I’m not sure it can be an excuse because we had a more difficult turnaround last season,” McGinn added.
“The Conference League games, Thursday to Sunday are much more difficult to recover from. It’s an easy excuse but not one we want to use. We know we are good enough to compete and get results like this. We need to get back to the levels we have reached over the last few seasons.”
Villa fans will be praying that Emery’s men get back to their best very soon, starting with the home clash against Brentford.
