Playing against Brentford on Saturday, Villa were a bit short-staffed when taking the field without Ezri Konsa, but the match began smoothly enough for the claret and blue before taking a downward spiral.
Both Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers celebrated Premier League milestones with the defender logging his 150th appearance and Rogers his 50th appearance overall in the competition on Saturday. And to begin the game, Villa was able to build well out of the back and assert its dominant footing in possession, but that positive momentum quickly took a tailspin thanks to superior foot-speed of the Brentford attack.
Brentford forward Dango Ouattard sprinted onto the break for the Bees and eventually deposited his own rebound into the Aston Villa net. In that same sequence, Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara went down with an injury and had to be substituted for Emi Buendia. So, Villa will have to monitor Kamara’s fitness before its next Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace.
"The first 20 minutes, we weren't really performing and playing with the intensity we needed and conceding one goal is more difficult,” Emery said after the match. “After it, we reacted, and we were dominating. We were creating some chances, corners offensively."
From that point on, Villa did contain a lion’s share of the possession, but play continued to break up in the final third, and Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher was not tested on many occasions throughout the match. In fact, Villa’s best strike at goal came from a low, powerful John McGinn shot through the tangled legs of the Brentford defense, but Kelleher lunged for a kick-save to neutralize the scenario.
Emery chose to deploy McGinn as a right winger amid Villa’s recent forward exodus, and the Claret and Blue skipper shared his evaluation on how that tactical decision played out on Saturday.
"We have some circumstances now we are trying to work on it,” Emery explained. “But we need to finish the transfer window next week. And John McGinn played two years ago, performing [as a] right winger in matches.
"His characteristic as a player is not getting individual action man-to-man, but he can open spaces for our right back or he can get passes forward with teammates,” Emery said.
Potential answer for Aston Villa
Throughout his tenure at Villa, McGinn has proven to be the answer to more than a few lineup conundrums given his versatile qualities and physical playing style, and Emery is likely to lean on that experience as the squad settles into the season.
"We have to move on and continue working,” Emery said. “Trying to change some circumstances that we have, or try to clarify this week with some circumstances we have, and then build the team and try to get ourselves strong again like we did the last three years."
For the time being, it will be critical to monitor Kamara’s health as the Premier League campaign ticks on for Villa with another match coming on Sunday, Aug. 31 against Crystal Palace.