View: Emery must make immediate changes as damning Aston Villa stat revealed v Liverpool

Aston Villa’s winning run in the Premier League came to an end on Saturday as they suffered a 2-0 loss to Liverpool.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch condemned Villa to a defeat that leaves them 11th in the Premier League table.

Emi Martinez made a shocking mistake for the first goal at Anfield, inexplicably passing the ball to Salah, who simply passed the ball into an open goal.

Aston Villa tried to play out from the back on numerous occasions, and Ashley Williams was critical of Unai Emery‘s game plan.

Aston Villa the masters of their downfall vs Liverpool

Coming into the match, Aston Villa had won their previous four league games, whilst Liverpool had lost all of theirs, and the last thing Emery would have wanted was to give Arne Slot’s side confidence at Anfield.

Martinez nearly left Villa in the summer, and his performance against Liverpool was nervy and complacent throughout the match.

Emery’s side repeatedly played out from the back throughout the match, but they were successfully pressed by a buoyant Liverpool side in front of their home crowd.

Only 12.3 per cent of Villa’s passes were long, the fewest of any team to play Liverpool in the league this season.

Speaking on Match of the Day on 2 November, Williams was unimpressed by how Villa approached the match, as they highlighted the stats above.

He said: “They wanted to build up through midfield, but it was slow and sluggish throughout the game.

“It was so obvious that Liverpool struggle from long balls, so it’s confusing why Emery and the players decided to play it short at the back.“

Martinez has been superb for Villa, yet there have always been worries about his abilities on the ball, and his flaws were brutally exposed.

Villa only completed 84 per cent of their passes, whilst winning just 48 per cent of their ground duels, and 46 per cent of their aerial duels as a team.

Up next for Villa are home games against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bournemouth, and Emery will already be thinking about how they can make up their mistakes against Liverpool.

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Unai Emery must change his style of play

Not only have Bournemouth made a wonderful start to the season, reaching second in the table, but they are also well-known for how effectively they press teams in their final third.

Whilst Villa have been in a fine run of form, and a defeat against Liverpool isn’t a terrible result, the manner of the goals conceded could be a warning ahead of next week’s game.

The match takes place on 9 November, and with Villa playing Maccabi Tel Aviv in midweek, they’ll be fatigued ahead of the clash.

Against high-quality opposition, Villa won’t be well-versed to play through the pitch, and a change in style could benefit them massively against the Cherries.

Over to you, Emery.

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