Unai Emery: Villa Lineup Changes Not The Reason For Tottenham Defeat

Unai Emery insisted Aston Villa’s heavy rotation was not to blame for a flat 2-1 Premier League defeat against Tottenham, even though Villa failed to test the goalkeeper until stoppage time and suffered a third straight loss across all competitions at Villa Park.

The head coach changed seven players from the side beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi-final first leg, trying to keep the squad fresh before the return match on Thursday, but Villa quickly fell behind to early goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison.

Emiliano Buendia headed in on 96 minutes to reduce the deficit, yet the late goal only softened the scoreline as Villa struggled to create clear chances for most of the contest and could not stop Tottenham controlling long spells of the first half at Villa Park.

Asked by TNT Sports about the changes, Emery said: "Playing with [the]eleven players we have in the squad, [or]choosing another eleven, we could have lost the match we lostwith different players. We didn't deserve more.Tottenham played a very good match and scored two quick goals, then dominated the first half more than we planned. But we reacted in the second half, we were pushing more, we were playing better than the first half. We tried to react, scoring one goal, but we only achieved this at the end of the match. We must accept this defeat."

Villa’s attacking threat was minimal until Buendia’s late header, which was the team’s first shot on target, while the club are on their longest losing run since November 2024 after three defeats in a row in all competitions, underlining a sudden dip during a demanding schedule.

Early goals have also become a concern in the Premier League this season, with only Burnley and West Ham conceding more often in the opening 15 minutes than Aston Villa, and Gallagher’s breakthrough arrived in the 12th minute after Spurs took control from the start.

Emery was keen to highlight the broader context of Aston Villa’s Premier League campaign, with the team still fifth after 35 league matches and holding a strong position in the race for Champions League qualification despite recent setbacks and the Europa League semi-final workload.

Reflecting on that wider picture, Emery said: "We were playing a Premier League match, 35 games [played now], and, of course, a lot of things we did before well, now [that is the reason we have]the advantage we have, and playing against Tottenham, I expected in our worst match this result, because I know Tottenham have very good players like they showed against us. And we were not playing in our best performance. But, overall, in 35 matches we are still being in front, we are still with 58 points because we did things before better than we did. This is the consistency we are always trying to get in each match, especially in a long season like we are doing. Now we are going to prepare for this special match [Europa League semi-final second leg]. I think we must be motivated, and we must prepare as good as possible, and enjoy the process."

The loss to Tottenham leaves Aston Villa balancing domestic aims with a crucial Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest on Thursday, and Emery wants the squad to respond quickly, protect the league position and carry lessons from this defeat into the European tie.