Emery calls Aston Villa ‘lazy’ after 1-1 draw against Sunderland while also saying that his side is missing identity.
Despite the fact that Aston Villa eventually scored their first Premier League goal of the season, Unai Emery’s pursuit of the lost form from the previous season is far from over.
Sunderland, on the other hand, were a testament to tenacity, faith, and outstanding organisation. After their left-back Reinildo Mandava was sent off for violent behaviour in the 33rd minute and Robin Roefs made a rare error in the second half that let Matty Cash put Emery’s team ahead from 25 yards out, Régis Le Bris’s team might have easily collapsed.
The Villa manager’s weekend was marred by Wilson Isidor’s half-volleyed goal, his third league goal of the season, after Le Bris’s ten men easily regrouped due to the great play of central defenders Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete.
With seconds left, an increasingly furious Emery turned on his heel, gave Le Bris a quick handshake, and bounded down the tunnel, clearly disappointed by the visitors’ lack of effort.
“We have to accept one point but this is not how we want to be as a team,” said Villa’s manager. “We need to get our identity back. We need to get confident again. I’m frustrated and disappointed. It should have been easier playing against 10 men but we’re not playing with the identity we’ve shown in the last three years. For me, it’s not enough.”
Emery added: “We were lazy sometimes in defence. For example, when we conceded we were lazy.”
Le Bris seemed somewhat more content. “It was a good draw,” he said after his promoted side’s eighth point in five games. “We started really well. Then came the red card but we reacted very well. We made a new gameplan, the team did really well in a deep block and it became a set piece game. I really liked our reaction to Villa’s goal, it would have been easy to give up but we showed we wanted to suffer together. The value of this point is really important.”