Aston Villa had a historic season under Unai Emery this season. However, it ended with a huge defeat against Crystal Palace by 5-0 scoreline. Mateta was the showstopper with his hattrick, and Eze helped with the brace to secure a 5-o victory. However, despite this crushing defeat, Villa already achieved the impossible of securing the champions league spot for the next season.
This Villa’s performance is mainly due to the lack of many key players because of injuries and some absentees. Many Key players like Leon Bailey, Emi Martinez, Tielemans and Matty Cash were absent. The lack of squad depth and quality resulted in a complete dominance performance by Crystal Palace.
Aston Villa hammered: Emery’s Post-Match Reflections
Unai Emery however refrained to comment or blame any of his players taking in aspect the physical and mental toll the season had on them. “Whenever you lose by 5 goals its actually disappointing and also embarrassing. We were clearly not on our best today and we also gave our all against Liverpool on Monday.”
Emery also talked about maintaining the focus after securing the Champions league spot. “We achieved our target on Tuesday when we secure the Champions League. W thought that we would finish the season on a high note but we failed.” Despite the result, Emery shed light on the importance of recovery and rest for both the players and himself.
Amongst the squad players for the last match, there were a lot of youngsters and one of them was Emery’s son, Lander. The 21-year-old keeper travelled the squad for the first time since joining them in the summer. Lander has some huge contributions at the academy level. It notably includes his pivtol role in the Birmingham senior cup victory.
It was a special moment seeing Lander with the senior memeber and when Villa’s director congratulated him for this chance. DDespite the ultimate result, it was a moment for the young lad that he will keep in his memory forever.
What does the future hold for Villa and the players
During the first half of the match, Aston Villa gave a strong fight and also were creating decent chances. Moussa Diaby missed an easy 1v1 chance and Watkin’s header was cleared off the line. Watkins was looking for his 20th goal of the season but ultimately failed to achieve it.
Throughout the match, there was a lack of energy between the striking partnership of Watkins and Duran. On the edge of the halftime, a counter attacking situation opened up and instead of passing to Duran, Watkins went for the shot which ultimately led to nothing.
Even though the defeat against Crystal Palace was a bad way to end the season, Villa ultimately had a successful and historical season this year. Securing the top tier of European football i.e. champions league signifies the path the club is in for the future. Aston Villa’s and Emery’s focus will now be on the transfer window. They would like to boost their squad quality and depth to make sure they can compete properly on multiple tournaments next season
As Aston Villa fans will reflect on this season, they won’t even remember this defeat that much. The main highlight for all of them would be the glorious achievements by the team and the individual performances of the players. The club back at the European stages highlights a significant change at the club. Also with Unai Emery at the charge, the future only looks brighter for Aston Villa.
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