Aston Villa boss Unai Emery didn’t hold back in his assessment of his side after a frustrating 1–1 draw away to a ten-man Sunderland. Despite an early numerical advantage, Villa let their grip slip — and Emery believes it came down to a lack of effort and intensity from his players.
Poor attitude undermines early advantage
The match at the Stadium of Light looked to be going Villa’s way after just 30 minutes, when Sunderland’s Reinildo Mandava was sent off for a reckless kick out after a challenge with Matty Cash.
Aston Villa took the lead in the 67th minute through Cash’s powerful strike, their first Premier League goal of the season. Instead of settling in to control the match, though, Villa dropped deeper — and Sunderland struck back almost immediately when Wilson Isidor converted a cross from Granit Xhaka to level.
Emery’s post-match mood was one of disappointment. He said he wasn’t angry at the result itself so much as how his team played. He singled out laziness in defence, lack of fight in duels, and general complacency once the upper hand was secured. “We were lazy sometimes in defence … when we conceded, we were lazy,” he said, adding that the fault was collective, not just with one or two players. He also suggested some of his newer players — notably Harvey Elliott — were still adapting to Villa’s style and needed to grow in confidence to execute passes more decisively and under pressure.
For all Villa’s recent high-profile success (last season’s sixth place, Champions League football), the start to this campaign has been rocky. The draw means Villa are still waiting for their first win and sit in the relegation places after five games.
Looking ahead
Emery has now put the challenge clearly to his squad: better urgency, more concentration, especially in defence, and no more letting games slip when the momentum is theirs.
The next fixtures will test just how much his words have landed. If Villa can’t lift both spirit and performance soon, fan patience could wear thin. They will need to dust themselves off and prepare for their first Europa League group game against Bologna at home. The last two games have shown flashes of quality, but now consistency and wins are needed.
