Aston Villa slumped to 14th in Premier League after a humbling 3-0 defeat by Chelsea that saw winless run extend to EIGHT matches… What’s going on at the club? Is Unai Emery’s job under threat?

Aston Villa are a team in trouble. Their 3-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend was made worse by a toothless performance, in which Ollie Watkins appeared to lack confidence, and Villa’s fragile backline was ruthlessly exposed.

Villa had started the season in much the same way they finished the last, winning four of their first five games and moving up to third place. It looked like they were ready for another assault on the top four of the English top flight.

But since then, things have unraveled for Unai Emery faster than anyone could have expected since then. Villa are currently twelfth, four places lower than Wednesday’s opponents Brentford.

The club are in their biggest slump yet under the Spanish manager, who guided them to Champions League football after a fantastic season last time out.

So what are the underlying trends behind Aston Villa’s recent decline? What’s so different about this season compared to last season? And what measures can be taken to stop the rot?

Here, Mail Sport takes a look at Villa’s early-season crisis.

Where have the goals gone?

The first step to understanding Villa’s slump is identifying why the goals have dried up. They have scored a total of five goals in their last eight league matches, and have failed to score in four of the last five.

It starts with the failed Watkins, whose production has slowed considerably. With just one goal in his last eight games, this is his least productive spell since autumn 2022 – at a time when he was a relative amateur in top-flight football and a far less developed player than he is today.

Likewise, super sub Jhon Duran has become something of a non-factor off the bench early in the season. At the start of the season it looked like Duran would score with every touch of the ball, but lately he has become ineffective and rarely got involved in recent months. He has not been on the scoresheet since the end of October.

It’s not entirely the strikers’ fault, however; A host of goalscorers from last season have failed to reach the same standards this season, including Leon Bailey, the leader. The Jamaican winger scored 12 goals in all competitions last season and was involved in a total of 25 goals.

However, he is yet to find the back of the net this season and with just three assists in 18 games, his place in the starting XI could be up for grabs.

It seems Villa’s top scorers are suddenly feeling pressure in front of goal. No one expected anything from them last season, and that played into Emery’s hands. No expectations means no pressure – and Villa thrived on playing the role of party pooper.

As a result, Watkins, Duran, Bailey and others such as Moussa Diaby and John McGinn all comfortably outperformed their expected targets. This season, only Duran has replicated that clinical form in front of goal, and even he has struggled of late.

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Leaky defense

In contrast to their usually more than capable attack, Villa’s defense has seen a sharp drop in efficiency. Since their last win, a 2-0 Champions League victory over Bologna in October, Villa have scored 15 goals in their last eight matches.

They had similar leaky runs last season, but were generally able to match or beat their opponents, resulting in more than a handful of close games for the neutral side.

In recent games they have instead been predictable in attack, and with no apparent improvement in their defense since last season, the games where they have conceded multiple goals have suddenly become a lot more expensive as they now lose the element of ball control miss. surprise.

And while they had a shaky defense at times last season, the stats behind their defensive plays this season indicate that things are continuing to go downhill.

This season, players in both defense and midfield have seen a drop in the success rate of their tackles, which could indicate an underlying problem at Villa Park.

While there has been some turnover in the squad since the end of last season, the drop in intensity and success rate seems inexplicable, and Emery clearly has defense-oriented work to do on the training pitch if he is to turn his side around.

As of last Friday, the silver lining of Emi Martinez in goal could be talked about. So far, Martinez’s save percentage across all competitions stands at 74.7 percent, a whole 7 percent better than last season’s figure of 67.0 percent. But after suffering a wrist injury that forced him to retire at half-time in the match against Chelsea, Emery no longer even has that going for him.

Bad transfer activities?

On the face of it, Villa had an admirable summer transfer window, raking in almost £130 million in turnover and spending an additional £18 million on the likes of Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Jaden Philogene.

However, they did lose a few stalwarts in their actions and dealings, most notably Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby and talented youngster Tim Iroegbunam. Luiz in particular was a big loss as he provided both defensive stability and a goalscorer, a balance they didn’t seem to have found with any of their new signings.

Philogene has struggled to start despite playing in the same position as the departed Diaby, while Onana has faded into obscurity after an effective start to the season. Even Ian Maatsen has played just 230 minutes, despite arriving with a hefty £37.5million price tag from Chelsea, where he was tipped as a standout academy graduate.

The only piece they can look to with any success is the signing of Ross Barkley from Luton for £5 million, who has consistently shown quality in his many cameos from the bench despite only being offered a starting spot twice by Emery .

It has long been known that replacing key players is one of the hardest things in sport, and Aston Villa have provided a perfect example of what happens when you fail.

How does Emery revive his side?

It’s a difficult question to answer. There is no question that Emery is a top manager; no side finishes in the top four without a lot of management knowledge guiding them. However, he faces a difficult task.

The decline in form cannot be attributed to just one metric and it appears the Spaniard will need to address at least three, and possibly more, key areas if his team is to turn things around.

It could be that the new signings haven’t quite clicked in with the rest of the team, or it could be that they are neglecting important aspects of the game in training, which is unlikely.

The most logical perspective seems to be that the players learn to deal with new expectations. Qualifying for the Champions League, after being predicted before last season to finish mid-table, is a significant achievement, one that puts the magnifying glass on the team for next season.

Many first-team members are still 25 years old or younger and may still be learning to play with high expectations on their shoulders. The result is that, instead of being fearless and taking risks on the pitch, they instead worry about making mistakes, often opting for the safest options in most scenarios, both with and without the ball .

Maybe this is just a matter that time will sort out. The more they play together, the better they understand each other, and over time they will learn to deal with the pressure that comes with being part of a Champions League football club. They are too good to finish in the bottom half of the league this season, but they have to show that sooner or later.