Aston Villa Manager Unai Emery slams Players as “Lazy” Following Draw Against Sunderland
SUNDERLAND,England – Unai Emery heavily criticized his Aston Villa squad,labeling their performance as “lazy” at times,after a 1-1 draw against 10-man Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Despite taking the lead through a Matty Cash goal in the 67th minute, Villa were pegged back by Wilson Isidor shortly after, continuing a frustrating start to the Premier League season.
The match saw Sunderland’s Reinildo Mandava sent off for kicking out at Cash during a quiet first half-hour. Villa, despite the numerical advantage, failed to fully capitalize, and now sit third-from-bottom in the table without a win.
“I am not frustrated for the result,I am not disappointed wiht the result. I’m frustrated and disappointed for how we played,” Emery stated post-match. “How we are not playing, feeling agreeable with our style. Of course, we have to try to recover personality as well (as) confidence and personality to play.”
emery pinpointed a lack of defensive effort as a key issue,specifically referencing the concession of the equalizer. ”We were lazy sometimes in defense. Such as,when we conceded we were lazy. Maybe it’s the consequences we are not feeling (we are) dominating or playing our style.”
He also highlighted the need for adaptation from some players, using Harvey Elliott as an example. “He needs to understand he has the skills to play more passes and then to do the pass in better options to get something more.”
Sunderland leveled the score when Granit Xhaka assisted Isidor, who finished past Emiliano Martinez. Emery expressed his dismay at the goal, stating, “When we are playing here away, we have to fight the duels and we were not fighting all the duels. I watched the goal we conceded and we were lazy. But all the team - not the center-back or Cash – we were lazy.”
despite the criticism, Emery acknowledged the need to regain confidence and personality within the team, recalling their success in previous seasons, finishing sixth in the Premier League and participating in a Champions League campaign.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris praised his team’s resilience following Mandava’s red card. “It’s a good point with two different scenarios,” he said. “We kept the ability to go forward to think it was possible to change the score and it happened.” Sunderland currently sit in the top half of the table with two wins, two draws, and one loss.
