BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa's dismal defeat to bottom club Wolves
Amadou Onana
Amadou Onana(Image: Getty Images)
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A grim night in Wolverhampton for Aston Villa once again - and make no mistake, this was one of the worst results under Unai Emery.
Villa were passive against one of the poorer teams the Premier League has seen, and they can have no complaints about their 2–0 defeat.
Joao Gomes opened the scoring after an hour before Rodrigo Gomes doubled the hosts’ lead in the final minute of second-half added time.
Here are the talking points from Villa’s defeat.
Villa are in need of drastic improvement
Despite sitting in third place, Villa are now in their second run of prolonged poor results and, even more worryingly, poor performances.
The month of February was supposed to be the period where Villa pulled away from the chasing pack and left themselves with little work to do in the final 10 matches of the campaign.
Instead, they are perilously close to blowing their points advantage altogether, with Manchester United having the chance to move above them this weekend.
When Chelsea go to Villa Park on Wednesday, Emery’s team could either increase their buffer to the Blues to another three points or lose more ground.
The level of the team was bound to drop off without Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, but that is simply not an excuse to be second best against Wolves.
You’d be forgiven for thinking Villa were the team with nothing riding on this match and, even though both teams failed to show much quality, the fact there was little to separate them is concerning.
Arsenal slipped up against Wolves and drew 2–2, which is a sign of mental fragility, but Villa didn’t even leave with a point and, after the 10th minute, hardly created a big chance until the end of the second half.
Emery should have started Abraham
That brings us to Ollie Watkins - who is really struggling.
Unai Emery should have started Tammy Abraham on Friday night, as much to reward the former Besiktas man for scoring in his last two games as to take Watkins out of the firing line.
He missed Villa’s first big opportunity of the game after being played in by Morgan Rogers, but bizarrely opted to use the outside of his right boot to shoot rather than strike with his left as the ball rolled across his body.
Watkins, like a few of his teammates, looked short of confidence, but we knew this before kick-off - so why Abraham wasn’t playing from the start was a surprise.
Emi Buendia, for as well as he has played this season, was also very poor and probably had his worst game since returning to the club after a loan spell in Germany last season.
Buendia was hooked in the 70th minute and replaced by Abraham but - just like against Leeds - it was clear he wasn’t happy about coming off.
Amadou Onana was shouting at Buendia to hurry off the pitch after his number came up, gesturing that the Argentine needed to run off rather than walk.
However, at this point in the match, referee Craig Pawson had already left the pitch to go down the tunnel, meaning Buendia could have taken all the time in the world - the game wasn’t getting back underway quickly.
After initially taking his place on the bench, Buendia then trotted down the tunnel himself, taking his shirt off as he left.
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Konsa involved in post-match spat
Capping off a terrible night, captain Ezri Konsa appeared to exchange words with some Villa fans after full-time.
The centre-back was seen shouting back towards the travelling supporters before being pushed away by a Villa staff member.
Konsa, clearly furious at something, then walked away before pointing back at the away fans when asked by Onana what the issue was.
It’s unclear what was said during the incident, but it rounded off what was a miserable night for Villa in Wolverhampton.
In his post-match press conference, Emery called for unity across the club and its fans.
He knows there is still a huge match awaiting them on Wednesday night against Chelsea.
As bad as Friday night was, a response against Chelsea is a must. That will only happen with a fresh mindset and possibly a different approach too.
Rogers: There's nothing to worry about
Villa’s five-match winless run at the start of the season was followed by a stretch of 17 wins in 19 games across all competitions.
A key reason behind many of those wins was the individual brilliance of Morgan Rogers.
In recent weeks, however, he has either been crowded out or unable to produce when it matters for Villa - though it would be completely unfair to expect him to step up every time when there are nine other outfield players on the pitch.
Yet Villa look to him for inspiration, there is no doubt, and he could still be the difference for them in the final 10 games of the season.
“We didn't do anywhere near enough to create chances and score goals,” Rogers told Sky Sports after full-time. “We controlled the game in parts, it was not all doom and gloom. But we did not create enough chances.
"They are at home and are a good team, despite their position. They grew into the game and had their moments. In the first half we managed them as well as we could, but they had a spell on top. We did not do enough.
“We set our standards high and we have the ability to win every game. Obviously that is not realistic but we are playing good football as a whole and there is nothing to worry about."
Claret & Blue verdict