Aston Villa have achieved some incredible things under Unai Emery, but their form in the Premier League is a cause for concern. Your balancing act doesn't work.

Fair play to Steven Gerrard who continues to do his utmost to justify his cause a decision by Aston Villa that requires no justificationeven at the expense of what might be left of his coaching ambitions.

“I have to take on this responsibility,” he said as Al-Ettifaq suffered their fourth defeat in six games, leaving them stuck in mid-table at best and seemingly in for another losing season.

This streak includes as many wins as Villa have achieved in their last five Premier League games; Unai Emery may have been born into and shaped by the game that comes with European competition, but many of these players are still struggling, having only recently taken over.

And the manager cannot be blamed for that sobering afternoon. villa They don't lose often under Emery, but such is their tactical balancing act that defeat often leads to capitulation: last season ended with 5-1 and 5-0 defeats against Newcastle and Crystal Palace, while they conceded four goals conceded at home to Spurs in March.

The extra travel will at least provide time for introspection, because Villa got this wrong. They were strangely passive, scoring a lucky goal, being undone by individual errors and never really in control, even when they were leading or level for most of the game.

Morgan Rogers' opening goal was not as undeserved or against the run of play as the commentary team suggested. By this point both teams had fired a dozen shots and Villa had held their own. Amadou Onana was very good and the visitors were excellently organized.

But a spoiler came at the end of the first half: a poor pass from Pau Torres put Onana under pressure, and Pape Matar Sarr took the opportunity to create a shooting chance.

That was exactly how the third goal came about and was lost in Dominic Solanke's second goal, which was another crucial difference between the teams. While Ange Postecoglou continued his recent toxic relationship with substitutions With yet another set of influential changes, Emery's changes were less than optimal.

Richarlison set up a goal, Ben Davies made a crucial interception that led to another goal, Yves Bissouma did a great job of keeping the pressure on and James Maddison scored a great free kick. Such influence from the bench is game-changing. None of Villa's subs were working, Jhon Duran's magic seemed to be fading and their problems on the right were only exacerbated by Matty Cash's injury.

He's not the best option for a Champions League team on this side, but the alternatives seem worse.

The concern for Emery is that a rare midweek break for his regular players backfired in the Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace. They have generally handled this transition well and have had some excellent results following European excursions. This was a miserable experience, apart from Tottenham exploiting their set-piece weakness, which was their only shot on goal of the entire game.

Spurs being Spurs, they obviously took a big step forward after giving Crystal Palace their first Premier League win of the season and beating two Champions League teams in the space of five days.

As for Villa, they now have the worst defensive record in the top half and only seven clubs have taken fewer points in their last five games. A quick look at their former manager's current situation suggests things could get worse, but their position as breakers of the Premier League's glass ceiling is precarious and There are clubs in the style of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth waiting to take their place. Such a performance will not have deterred them.

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