Concerns and question marks were raised during our recent eight-game winless streak, but Aston Villa boss Unai Emery continues to find answers and solutions.
Villa looked devoid of confidence and ideas through that barren run, as not only could we not find a way to stop leaking poor and avoidable goals, our inventiveness and sharpness in the final third seemed to have abandoned us in performances that lacked rhythm and cohesion.
READ MORE: Villa hopeful of injury boost ahead of Newcastle clash on Boxing Day
That in turn presented Emery with his toughest test yet since being appointed at the club, as we hadn’t gone through such a prolonged spell of struggles, both in terms of our performance levels and results.
While he hasn’t solved the entire puzzle as of yet, and we’ll undoubtedly experience bad patches in the future again, we’ve seen him evolve tactically in recent weeks to make tweaks and try different things in a bid to get us out of our rut and back playing to the standard we’ve set since he arrived.
Whether that was with Matty Cash being deployed in a more advanced role on the right side against RB Leipzig, as Emery changed our shape and set-up for the better, or with Youri Tielemans playing with more freedom higher up the pitch this past weekend in our victory over Manchester City, Emery’s elite coaching and tactical genius is helping us find our way again to get back on track.
It has been hugely encouraging to see Villa return to the level we’re capable of performing at and get positive results more consistently, and there is still so much room for improvement as we look to go through the gears over the Christmas period to really put ourselves in a much stronger position.
Although it starts with Emery and how he sets us up in our system and structure, it’s also then down to the players to go out and execute the gameplan, and our midfield certainly did that on Saturday, as we produced one of our most balanced and aggressive displays in some time.
Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana provided us with a solid base in the deeper midfield pivot, as their physicality, athleticism and positional awareness made it difficult for City to play their way through us, and that ability to shield the backline was fundamental in a disciplined effort from all.
Their presence in turn afforded more freedom to Tielemans to pull the strings in more advanced areas and with less defensive burdens on his shoulders, a role in which he thrived, while skipper John McGinn led our charge with his usual tireless and all-action shift higher up the pitch.
That energy, aggressiveness and intensity fuelled our win, as we worked incredibly hard out of possession to not only shut City down, but pounce on mistakes when we could and attack with speed and intent, and that largely started with our midfield stamping their authority on the game.
There were so many encouraging signs this past weekend, and we’ll need all those important characteristics and strengths to shine through on Boxing Day again, as we face another difficult challenge when visiting Newcastle Utd.