Aston Villa were on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller at Villa Park on Sunday. Discontent was aplenty across social media as Villa conceded four at home. This was a far cry from the 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool, but there were plenty of signs of encouragement. The claims across Twitter that Villa are going to be dragged into a relegation scrap seem sensationalistic given that they’re in the top half of the table and more than 11 points from the relegation zone.
Pundit and ex-Villa defender Stephen Warnock said on Sky Sports: “I don’t fear for them too much because I believe they have got enough quality.”
And it’s easy to see why. With 12 points on the board – a third of what they managed all last season – and wins against Liverpool and Leicester City, Villa are in much better shape than they were last season.
Should Aston Villa Fans be Worried? Probably Not
Jack Grealish in the Limelight Again for Villa
There’s no getting away from the fact that Aston Villa continue to rely on Jack Grealish. One of England’s most creative midfielders enjoyed another excellent game at Villa Park. Assisting, scoring and earning a penalty for his team, he dragged his boyhood club back from 4-0 to at least save their dignity. Sadly for the Villains, it wasn’t enough to get something from the game, but he embodied everything that was right about Villa’s much more impressive second half.
The fact that they were able to grow into the game, despite conceding three times in the first half, speaks to the character of a team who last year would have crumbled. They were lacking defensively, giving away silly fouls and letting Southampton easily bag three goals from set-pieces. With that said, Southampton only had one real chance from open play, while Villa were thwarted by the heroics of Alex McCarthy. It wasn’t as embarrassing as the scoreline suggested and could easily have been avoided.
Other Teams Aren’t Picking up Points
Relegation was a terrifying spectre for Villa much of last season. Unable to pick up points and losing to teams around them, they slipped into the relegation zone with barely a whimper. The difference this season is that more teams are struggling to pick up points than they are.
Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, and West Bromwich Albion look to have formed this year’s relegation battle already with fewer points between them than the 12 Villa have bagged already. At the start of the season, no-one could have predicted Sheffield United’s fall from grace and sadly Burnley are suffering from the same issues that saw Bournemouth fall to the Championship. Injuries and a lack of squad depth.
It’s hard to see where the points will come from for any of these teams, except perhaps from each other.
Villa’s Good Run of Fixtures
With Arsenal next, fans could easily think they’re in for a bad patch of fixtures but the opposite is true. Villa face two of the bottom five in their next eight games and their direct competitors for mid-table finishes. These are games they can win if they perform from the beginning rather than waiting to concede before showing up.
Last season, Villa relied on other teams failing to win to stay up. This year, they can only look to the players in their dressing room to pick up points. They have the quality there, the question is how they react to this blip and whether top-half is attainable. On paper, it should be. In reality, no-one can say. That’s football, but fans shouldn’t worry about relegation just yet.
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