Premier League hits and misses: Are Aston Villa suffering from a European hangover?

European Villa fatigue?

It would be easy to attribute Villa’s loss of two points at the end of the game against Bournemouth to Champions League fatigue, with that result coming shortly after another home draw following their victory over Bayern Munich in Europe.

Emery acknowledged that Morgan Rodgers’ withdrawal may have been due to scheduling demands, but did not accept such excuses for the equalizer. He attributed this to the learning curve his team is on. They later lost control of this game.

“There is still a lot to work on because we are trying to achieve a strong mentality, tactically and emotionally. We didn’t control it. This is something we need to learn,” Emery said.

Ross Barkley knew what he was doing when he rushed desperately to stop Bournemouth’s attack within seconds, but he didn’t have to look back to think it was the wrong choice. A less desperate player would have remained calm.

Instead, his free kick allowed another ball into the Villa penalty area – Marcus Tavernier deftly aimed at the near post, preventing Emiliano Martinez from collecting the ball. Small details. This is exactly the detail that will upset Emery.
Adam Bate

Savigno takes responsibility

Savigno looks like he’s been playing for Manchester City for years.

However, this was only his sixth start for Pep Guardiola. In the absence of the likes of Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish, the creative output rested on Savigno’s shoulders and he produced another brilliant and decisive performance. No player created more chances (5), but the most interesting statistic was the number of touches he took inside the Southampton box. This figure was 17 – three more than the entire Southampton team managed in the entire 90 minutes.

Only two players have scored more this season, demonstrating how much Savigno demands the ball and how confident his teammates are in providing him with services.
Lewis Jones

Lewis-Potter sparks Brentford comeback and win

The performances of Ioan Wissa and Brian Mbeumo will dominate the headlines as they starred in Brentford’s dramatic 4-3 win over Ipswich, but the architect of that win was Kean Lewis-Potter.

The striker was involved in every positive his side put together, including the penalty win, and then drew out Harry Clarke for a second yellow card after he had been troubling him throughout the match.

Speaking after the game, Brentford manager Thomas Frank said the 23-year-old had enjoyed his best game for the Bees following his runaway display.

“He sparked the comeback,” Frank said.

“He created a penalty, a red card, (he) was constantly going forward and getting ahead of players. I’m very pleased with his performance.”

Lewis-Potter made his seventh start of the season and his influence at Brentford is growing. It seems only a matter of time before his industry is rewarded with the numbers it deserves.
William Bitibiri

Top 10 shouldn’t be the pinnacle of Forest’s ambitions

Three years ago, Nottingham Forest, under Steve Cooper, were 16th in the Championship. They entered the weekend fifth in the Premier League, with Chris Wood second top scorer.

Apart from the immobile Ryan Yates, the only remnant of Forest’s promotion-winning side was on the home bench at the King Power Stadium. As for Wood, whose 22 goals moved him level with Stan Collymore to become Forest’s second-highest Premier League scorer with 22 goals, his importance cannot be overstated.

Seventeen such strikes have been made since last Christmas, with only Erling Haaland scoring more non-penalty goals in that time. Yates, who scored the first goal on his 150th league start for Forest, described the first half as “like a basketball game” but Nuno Espirito Santo made a small tactical change at the break to nullify Leicester’s penal midfield.

Wood’s class was crucial but Forest collectively took the game by the scruff of the neck and now have 11 points from their first five away league games. Finishing in the first half – even at this stage – should not be the pinnacle of their ambitions.
Ben Grounds

Travers moves to Bournemouth

Kepa Arrizabalaga’s injury gave Mark Travers the opportunity to feature for only the second time this season, the previous time being when the on-loan Chelsea goalkeeper was unable to play against his parent club. He responded with a man-of-the-match performance against the Cherries at Aston Villa.

“He played fantastic today. He clearly saved them,” Villa manager Unai Emery said.

Amadou Onana’s first-half save was superb, and while stops from Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins were expected, they were testament to his agility – and his willingness to seize his opportunity. The Bournemouth fans chanted his name.

“He kept us in the game in some difficult moments,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola agreed afterwards. “Kepa had a slight injury to his left adductor muscle, he couldn’t kick the ball properly and there was no point in taking risks when we have two goalkeepers.” Especially someone as capable as Travers.
Adam Bate

Wolverhampton enter the decisive period of the match with confidence

Here we go again, thought Gary O’Neill. The Wolves manager was preparing to answer more “tough questions” after Brighton scored a second goal in the 85th minute.

Ten minutes later, after the incredible goal had been saved, he walked with a spring in his step into the post-match interview, declaring: “We’re definitely going to do well this season.”

“The big thing for me today is how deep they had to dig to get anything done today,” he said.

“Not only because we’re down 2-0, but we’re down 2-0 and we haven’t won a game yet and they still managed to find a way out.”

Wolves deserved at least a point against Brighton, as they did last week in defeat to Manchester City. Their performances are heading into a crucial period, with fixtures being facilitated by meetings with Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich and Leicester.
David Richardson