From The Athletic
HOW UNAI EMERY HAS ADAPTED TO MAKE SURE ASTON VILLA DO NOT RUN OUT OF STEAM THIS SEASON
Games against Brighton & Hove Albion have served as case studies in Aston Villa’s energy — or lack of it.
In the same fixture here last season, on a hot summer’s day in May and with two league games to go, Villa were on their last legs.
Morgan Rogers suffered an injury which kept him out for the final weeks and his substitution led to the right-hand side of the team taking on a makeshift and bedraggled look, with Matty Cash moved into midfield and Ezri Konsa to right-back. Konsa conceded a penalty for the only goal of the contest.
Villa carried the gait of a boxer waiting for the final bell; clinging on, but merely surviving. The teams might have only been divided by one goal but Villa’s players were physically and psychologically spent. Four days later they went to Greece and were knocked out of the Conference League at the semi-final stage by Olympiacos.
Ultimately, Villa secured a Champions League place though the achievement did not mask, in the mind of Unai Emery, how little they had in the tank towards the end of the season.
“Last year we were in the Conference League and we got to the semi-final,” Emery said on Tuesday. “But against Olympiacos we were not 100 per cent, with the energy and even physically or mentally. We achieved through the Premier League to play Champions League but we were struggling the last two months.
“This year I want something different, being focused 100 per cent — full energy and with the players able to play matches in a row. Maybe we have 20 players ready to play. If someone is tired we have substitutions who can make a good impact. Sometimes in the first part of the season, we didn’t have it.”
Villa staff were mindful of how players were affected and did not want a repeat this time. This influenced January’s transfer dealings, with a greater appetite to deepen the squad’s depth.
This was especially pertinent given they were still battling in three competitions and would, once more, play more than 50 matches. There is an acceptance that were Villa only involved in the Premier League, the squad would be noticeably smaller, both for financial and morale reasons.
But Villa want plenty of games: more minutes, more away trips against Europe’s best opposition and harder tests. Less training time admittedly, but extended analysis sessions are thought to sharpen players’ concentration.
“Mentality is something so deep,” Emery continued. “We have a lot of meetings and speak about how we want to create our structure tactically but also from how we work — what do we want? To get Europe? To be contenders for a trophy? This is the mentality we are trying to get.”
Unlike last season when players were moonlighting in their second and third favoured positions or carrying injuries, there is a genuine faith the squad will peak this month. Approaching the critical juncture of the campaign, players have returned from injuries and new signings are fully integrated.
To ensure Villa have fuel in the tank in these final months of the season, Emery started to reduce his intense approach towards the end of 2024 to offset burnout. He has made efforts to ease the varying pressures, giving players extra days off in the week — sometimes to specific individuals rather than the whole squad. He also held one-on-one talks to gauge moods when form was stuttering.
On matchdays, Emery brings his own whiteboard which he lays out in the changing room. Before presentations, he will write out ‘REST’ in capital letters on the whiteboard.
If Emery had confidence in Villa’s capacity for endurance before they visited Brighton, such belief would only have been strengthened afterwards. His team’s 3-0 victory was juggernaut-like, starting solidly and then, as time went on, gathering power, energy and momentum. The goals came from winter signings Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen. Axel Disasi, also recruited mid-season, was introduced to see the match out and help the team register a fifth clean sheet in six matches.
Rashford’s goal five minutes after the break was a passage of sharp, incisive play. It took 11 seconds from Emiliano Martinez catching the ball to Rashford scoring and nine if you count the move from the former’s throw. Villa were at their best on transition last season and have gradually begun to rediscover those cutting moves.
Perhaps the changing of fortunes was symbolised by the nature of the goal. In November at Anfield, when the outlook was far bleaker, Villa conceded from an attacking corner. Now, they were directly benefiting from the inverse.
Villa led by a goal and, past the hour mark, introduced Asensio, a three-time Champions League winner, £50million ($65m) signing Amadou Onana and Ollie Watkins, the side’s top scorer.
Steadily, Emery’s side exerted control and after Simon Adingra had a goal ruled out for handball, Villa seized the initiative.
Asensio’s first-time finish was another example of their forward thinking. Cash’s whipped ball down the line sped into the path of Rogers, whose cutback picked out Asensio.
The second-half performance, from a mental standpoint, was the most impressive aspect. They fended off adversity, having been denied a clear penalty before the break and then, against the backdrop of numerous lost points previously, found another level.
It felt timely. Only a day earlier did Emery reference cases of missed opportunities — Bournemouth, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton in the reverse fixture. Here, however, they turned a point into a resounding victory against a contender for a Champions League place.
Malen scored Villa’s third and felt the most needed of any player. He has suffered a difficult time since arriving in January, excluded from Villa’s Champions League squad and short of minutes, with Emery making concerted efforts to reassure him of his worth. Opening his account appeared to drain most of his tension as away supporters sang his name and team-mates pushed him to the front to celebrate with them.
As the cliche goes, it is not how you start, but how you finish. Six successive wins across all competitions show Villa are peaking at the right time.
