Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Unai Emery’s tough spell

The international break comes at a welcome time for Aston Villa as they look to regroup and put right their poor run of recent form.

They are having to manage playing in Europe as well as sustaining a fight at the top end of the Premier League and this is proving a real test of Unai Emery’s managerial credentials.

He has overseen some memorable results as Villa boss, none more so than the win against Bayern Munich earlier this season, but he has always been careful to play down such highs and look at the bigger picture.

This latest defeat is Villa’s fourth in a row in all competitions while in the Premier League it is just one win in their last six games, a run of results that has seen them slip to eighth.

But there were positives take from this latest loss, namely they had a number of good chances to score themselves but found Caoimhin Kelleher in excellent form in the Liverpool goal.

After the break they host Crystal Palace and that is a game they will target getting a much-needed victory before tough games against Juventus in the Champions League and then Chelsea in the Premier League.