For some Aston Villa supporters, the preseason was a little bit of a disappointment. The nature of such friendly fixtures, though, needs to be considered. These types of matches are used by Unai Emery to have the players go up against competition who are not their teammates and to try different tactics, formations, and personnel groupings out.
It needs to be considered that the way in which Emery lined up for these early fixtures is hardly how the Villa boss will approach the games of consequence once they start.
There were, of course, moments that saw Villa looking a little shaky. Particularly when looking to build out of the back, the same mistakes that were made in preseason would equally lead to goals being scored against Emery's side.
That too is not a reason to sound any alarm bells.
Mistakes will be made even toward the end of the campaign. It is objectively better that similar mistakes were made during July and August, giving the Villans a chance to review their errors and make the needed correction for when the season itself actually begins.
Meeting Aston Villa expectations
Looking at the carryover from last season and knowing what this corps is capable of, there should be a strong sense of belief for Villa to achieve their goal of qualifying for Champions League through Premier League play.
Then, assessing the ongoing hunt for silverware, Villa will have a great chance of doing well and lifting a trophy in Europa League, the FA Cup, or Carabao Cup.
Set aside the results and some of the errors from the preseason for the time being. There were also plenty of great moments, and the attack in particular looks especially strong. With the season about to begin, Villa are in the position that they need to be in to achieve their goals.