Despite falling to a 2-0 deficit against Everton, Aston Villa were able to turn things around to secure a thrilling 3-2 comeback win at Villa Park on Saturday evening.
Various factors were key in that process, namely a sensational strike from Jhon Duran and a porous Everton defence looking capable of aiding our attempt to pull off a turnaround at any moment.
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Nevertheless, perhaps the most impressive and influential component of our comeback was the influence of Unai Emery and the way in which he has changed our identity, mentality and way of playing since he arrived.
In a candid post-match interview comment, Emiliano Martinez conceded that two years ago, we probably lose that game.
Going 2-0 down at home against a side we were highly fancied to beat, it reeks of going into panic mode, trying to force the issue and ultimately getting hit in the face and suffering an even more damaging defeat.
Instead, we saw a much more mature, polished and convincing Villa team construct a brilliant fightback, and one that we felt was always on the cards even when facing a two-goal disadvantage after just 27 minutes.
Scoring before half-time was a pivotal moment in the game, as it built belief that we could turn it around before frustration set in and complicated our objective further.
However, Emery’s decision to replace Amadou Onana at half-time, with Ross Barkley taking his place next to Youri Tielemans in our midfield pivot, was a genius move.
We were expected to dominate possession, and what that duo gave us was a renewed sense of control and an ability to dictate tempo and possession in deeper areas, which in turn allowed us to build sustained pressure.
Admittedly, it almost worked against us at times as Everton had big chances to score in the second half too, but on the whole, Villa were dominant after the break and ended the contest with 74 percent of possession, with 17 shots at goal, eight of which were on target.
Beyond that singular tweak though, it’s the change in mentality and the transformation stylistically that has been such a game-changer for Villa.
Again, given what happened to Everton prior to the international break, a comeback was always in the realm of possibilities, but there was a real sense of belief that Villa were more than capable of pulling it off.
The level of patience, composure and methodical nature with which we played were all decisive factors, and the Villa Park faithful sticking with the team and backing that approach was critical too.
We have been completely transformed under the Basque coach, and while it won’t always go to plan, we can rest easy in the knowledge than more often that not, he’ll have the winning gameplan up his sleeve to continue in this process and on this trajectory to continue to build us into an elite side that makes winning a regular habit.
