Unai Emery gamble backfires as Aston Villa's Champions League hopes take a hit
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In a city famous for its motoring heritage, Unai Emery’s men delivered a fitting performance - they got stuck on the grid. Villa’s third game on the road in seven days proved one too many as they spluttered to a deserved defeat. It wasn’t that they choked - far from it - but tyred legs undoubtedly played a part after visits to Goodison Park and the Emirates inside the last week.
They rallied briefly but were unable to battle their way past opponents who have their own designs on finishing in the top eight, much to the chagrin of HRH Prince William, watching from the stands. And now the stage is set for a showdown with Celtic at Villa Park next week, which will determine whether Villa can make it into the elite part of the competition. If they can, it increases the prize money, avoids the possibility of a play-off game - and potentially gives them a weaker draw in the last 16.
So the stakes were high before kick-off. Unfortunately, while the brief would have been explained by Emery, his players were unable to fulfil it. They looked short of their usual energy all over the pitch and were caught out at a set-piece - and were unable to recover.
In fairness, Villa enjoyed their best spell just before the interval with home keeper Radoslaw Majecki saving well from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins. But Monaco caused problems themselves. Adi Hutter’s side might have been well beaten in north London by Arsenal, but they have pedigree in the Principality. Barcelona were one of their scalps earlier this season. And Red Star Belgrade were hammered by five.
