What Monchi and Vidagany agreed about after Aston Villa draw as obvious frailty exposed again

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Aston Villa twice came from behind to earn a point against Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Ollie Watkins scored his sixth league goal of the season after Ismaila Sarr's early opener, before Youri Tielemans missed a penalty a few minutes after Villa's equaliser. From the resulting corner, Palace counter-attacked and went back in front before half-time.

Ross Barkley headed in Tielemans' corner in the 77th minute to restore parity once again, but Villa weren't able to turn the game on its head in the final 15 minutes and were instead thankful for Emi Martinez for keeping them level late on. The world's number one produced an outstanding save to deny Jeffrey Schlupp from inside the box.

READ | Unai Emery rues Aston Villa 'mistakes' as another opportunity wasted against Crystal Palace

READ | John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after 2-2 Crystal Palace draw extends winless run

Here are the talking points from Villa's draw...

Big opportunity missed

After losing four on the bounce and going into the international break without a win in five in all competitions, returning to action against Palace was a brilliant opportunity for Villa to start afresh after a difficult few weeks.

Palace were without several attacking players, notably Eberechi Eze, while midfielder Adam Wharton also missed the game. Yet Villa were behind for the majority of the match and struggled to control proceedings.

Their winless streak of six matches equals their longest run without a victory under Emery from the back end of last season. They have also drawn three consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since December 2014-January 2015.

It's crucial that Villa build momentum at this stage of the season because the'll be playing two games a week for the next three weeks. Several players in Emery's squad are out of form and lacking confidence - that needs to change quickly because there's little time to rest and recuperate in the most demanding part of the campaign.

After full-time on Saturday, Villa's director of football operations Damian Vidagany tweeted: "Not a day to run away or to hide. Here to back and support our players and staff. Big effort during many days with not the reward expected and deserved, everyone inside very upset and very aware of that we must deliver more after last results, but also aware that passion, effort and dedication is there like it was before.

"It’s a matter of time and correct details. In football and life It is about resilience and resistance. it is about NEVER GIVE UP. Thanks to all the fans for your support wishing to come back to win as soon as possible. For us and for you. Wednesday a new opportunity!!!!!"

President of football operations Monchi then responded to the tweet, posting: "100% agree with you, my brother. Up the Villa!!!"

Emery: Villa a work in progress

Emery said he was content with his side's performance against Palace, claiming they deserved to win the game despite chasing a deficit for most of it.

It feels like Villa have missed the chance to take an additional six points from their last three home league matches against Palace, Bournemouth - having conceded so late - and also Manchester United as it was one of Erik ten Hag's final games in charge.

"We deserved more but we made some mistakes that we need to correct," Emery said on Sky Sports. "We had chances to score, we came back. The penalty was a key moment. In the second half we pushed and felt close to scoring, but we have to accept one point."

Asked about Villa's vulnerability in transitions: "We are working on it. The players are concerned as well."

Conceding too many goals

Villa are conceding too many goals and their lack of form in forward areas isn't making up for their clear deficiencies. Last season, Villa shipped 17 goals in their first 12 matches, only two more than they have conceded this term.

But Villa scored 29 times after 12 matches last season, which is 10 more than what they have at the same stage now. Since gaining promotion back to the Premier League, only in 2019-20 and 2021-22 have Villa shipped more goals (both 20) after 12 games than this term.

Two of their last four goals conceded have come from their own corners having been hit in transition. It could've been two in the same game against Liverpool as Darwin Nunez missed a chance to double his side's advantage in the first half not long after scoring following Leon Bailey's foul on Mo Salah.

A trip to Stamford Bridge awaits next weekend, where Villa have kept three clean sheets in succession after winning there in the league in the last two seasons. Emery's side also drew 0-0 with the Blues in the FA Cup last term before losing the replay at Villa Park.

Big improvement required

Emery went straight to the successive 4-2 home defeats against Arsenal and Leicester City when asked if this is currently the toughest spell since taking over two years ago.

He said: "When we arrived, we lost two matches in a row against Arsenal 4-2 and Leicester 4-2. In that moment it was something not good. Now, more or less, we have the same sort of momentum."

Judging by his response, a lot of work at Bodymoor Heath and improvement is required to get out of this slump. Those two defeats in 2022/23, either side of a 3-1 loss at Manchester City, were quite early in Emery's tenure at Villa. Things changed pretty drastically afterwards. Of course, you'd back Emery to fid the solutions to Villa's problems again in the coming days and weeks, but strong performances have been few and far between after three months this season.

After losing 4-2 to Arsenal in February 2023, Villa won eight of their following 10 matches, keeping seven clean sheets and only conceding three goals.

Having Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara on the pitch will solidify Villa, who have now only kept one clean sheet in their last 17 league matches.

Claret & Blue verdict

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