Aston Villa has emerged as a strong contender for the English Premier League title this season.
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Aston Villa fans are starting to believe. The players are also showing their faith. But coach Unai Emery has never said that he believes in it. But one fact is certain, Aston Villa has become a strong contender for the English Premier League title this season.
Emery has also been asked if his club are really contenders for the league title. He says with a laugh, ‘No. Yes, we are playing well. We are in third place now, behind Arsenal and Manchester City. That is the big thing.’
Yes. He is a master of strategy, but even more so, he is a master of team management. An example of this was the 2-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday night. In that, Aston Villa’s victory was dramatic.
And it was also a comeback win from a one-goal deficit. Wally Watkinson scored the decisive goal with six minutes left at Stamford Bridge. This caused immense joy among the club’s supporters. Some statistics have come to the fore, which say that there is definitely something about this team and manager Emery. For example, this is the club’s 11th consecutive victory.
With this, Aston Villa equalled the winning streak achieved in 1897 and 1914. It is also their eighth consecutive league win. In October and November 1910, the team won nine consecutive league games. Now they have a chance to equal that and then surpass it. When the fifth round of matches ended this season, the team was in 18th place in the league and had not won a single game until then.
No other team has won or scored as many points as this team since the sixth round. Villa has never reached 39 points after 18 rounds of matches in the Premier League. Villa is currently only 3 points behind leaders Arsenal and 1 point behind second-placed Manchester City. Despite this, Emery does not consider his club to be title contenders, but there is a chance that the team can win the title. Watkinson, who scored both goals against Chelsea, says that Emery has a knack for planning strategies.
Aston Villa will be tested on Tuesday to see what kind of team they really are. That day, they face Arsenal at the Emirates. But Emery has a habit of making his opponents as uncomfortable as possible. And that too against his former club. Aston Villa are currently three points behind. The gap with City is only one point.
In this context, what makes Aston Villa happy is that the gap with Chelsea, who are in fifth, has now increased to 10 points. This is a situation that would have been unbelievable if Aston Villa had done this after the first five rounds of matches. What does former England striker Alan Shearer, who is a sports pundit, believe that one of the main reasons why Aston Villa can win the league this time is the coach Emery.
Shearer said, ‘We are now in the middle of the league and it is not easy to not consider Aston Villa as contenders for the title. If someone asks if they will win the league, my answer is no. I think the current team does not have the depth that is needed to win the title. But as long as Emery is in charge, all possibilities will remain open.’
‘The way Emery manages a team is of a high standard. The way he brought in three substitutes at Stamford Bridge changed the game. Watkinson, Jadon Sancho and Amadou Onana changed the game. Now, it’s hard to know what a defeat for Aston Villa is. One can imagine, if Aston Villa had done well in the first five games, where would the team be now?’
