It’s another European night at Villa Park, and this time it’s loser go home. You’d like to think that’ll be Club Brugge, but as Emery said, you never know. Villa’s propensity to ship a weak goal or two could very well rear its ugly head again and make things much more interesting than we’d like.
Which means we have to hope the players are as alert to this as all of us. We’d like to sort of see a processional victory, and here’s to them actually providing that. After all, there’s a break coming, so a number of players will be getting a rest (I’d like to see the whole team withheld from international duty, but I guess you can’t really do that without upsetting people), and you’d like to think an upcoming respite from the firehose of games they’ve had to play will free them up a little.
One possible mental downside is PSG knocking Liverpool out. I’m guessing a lot of us thought a known foe would be preferred to a team that battered them in Paris. The return leg more than shaded toward Liverpool, I thought, but as PSG were left ruing Alisson and their own misfires, so too were Liverpool left wondering at their finishing and luck. They did provide a blueprint, but it involves a massive expenditure of energy. If they could’ve made the early advantage count, they’d be through. But they didn’t, and scouse fans will surely be fuming about Nunez and Jones taking spot kicks. (I’ve not had a chance to read the reaction.) But it probably shouldn’t have come to that.
At any rate, Villa will have watched both legs I’m sure, and one hopes they aren’t demoralized at the prospect. If Emery can get them to focus on the task at hand, that would be helpful. I’m sure no one thought they were winning it all anyway, and getting through this round and into the quarters would be a very significant achievement.
And while Brugge weren’t necessarily one anyone’s radar to be here either, they are a very well-coached side. They know what they’re about, good structure, discipline and quality on the ball. Let’s just say that while I think Villa are the better team overall, we haven’t necessarily played like it consistently and that I’m glad there’s a cushion to ease the nerves and encourage them to just go play without too many voices in their heads.
What I hope for (in order, though it’s all really the same thing): 1) A great night for the supporters, 2) an extra £10m for the PSR ghouls to put on the right side of the ledger, and 3) a boost to the coefficient to keep our CL hopes alive for next season.
Besides the deserved joy for supporters, I’m also hopeful a victory heading into the break (keeping alive our recent resurgence) will set us up for the run-in. I’m assuming that Emery would love to knock PSG out and progress, but failing that, I’m thinking the FA Cup’s lure of silverware is very strong given how far we’ve come and who remains. It’s attainable, and would certainly be a feather for the man who got us back into Europe. We’re getting healthier (fingers crossed) at the right time, and can probably manage the load. A strong finish and a Cup…we can dream.
So, we’re all hoping it’ll still be three fronts for a little longer and you just keep fighting until you get knocked out. Beyond the money, I’m only bothered about CL qualification in terms of recruitment. I’ve no idea whether I want Rashford to stay since I never thought he would or felt certain it would be wise money in the longer term. Asensio, given the apparent bargain price(s) we’re reading about, would be a yes for me. Probably Disasi, too. (Although I do get Coutinho tremors from Asensio’s contribution so far.) But whether it’s them or others, Champions League is definitely a big lure for the kind of talent that could see Villa pushing on to stay at this level.
In the end, it all comes down to winning the next game in front of us.
Over to you.