- Aston Villa beat Sunderland 4-3 on Sunday afternoon
- Jadon Sancho was substituted on, and made two mistakes that both led to goals
- Unai Emery defended Sancho after the match saying, “I am always taking responsibility for the mistakes, not the players”
Aston Villa have moved one step closer to securing Champions League football after their 4-3 win over Sunderland on Sunday. However, they didn’t make things easy for themselves when two mistakes caused the Black Cats to score two goals in two minutes.
Ollie Watkins took an early lead for the Villans, heading from close range from John McGinn’s cross. Then, the 18-year-old Chris Rigg equalised just seven minutes later, before Villa finally took control of the match.
Ian Maatsen’s fizzed cross was met by Watkins to retake the lead in the 36th minute, as they went into the break with a one-goal advantage.
Just 60 seconds into the second half, Morgan Rogers scored a third as Villa began to cruise, thinking they had secured all three points.
With ten minutes to go, chaos erupted. Jadon Sancho was dispossessed on the edge of his own box, allowing Trai Hume to strike from a tight angle.
From the resulting kick-off, the 26-year-old was tackled, and Wilson Isidor was played through on goal to make it 3-3. Villa Park was stunned.
Luckily for Sancho, Tammy Abraham rescued the three points in the 93rd minute, flicking Lucas Digne’s cross into the back of the net.
At full-time, the Englishman looked to be emotional and headed down the tunnel straight away after being consoled by Damian Vidgany.
“It is not his mistake”
Although his mistakes did play a role for Sunderland’s late goals, Emery insisted that they were not the sole cause. He even cut a reporter off before they could finish their question when asked about it.
“It is not his mistake. The mistake is how we did this action. If we did more passes, we could have avoided it.
“The idea in 90 minutes was through good positioning and keeping possession, trying to be patient. When we conceded one goal, we decided to go quickly. I am never punishing it.
“After the ball we lost, the players didn’t respond well to protect the goals. We are going to analyse and find solutions for mistakes.
“I am always taking responsibility for the mistakes, not the players.”
Taking all three points is what matters most, and when both the players and supporters look back on this result, they will see the scoreline, not the few minutes of errors.
Emery quickly defending Sancho shows the culture he has created at the club. They are a team; no one is at fault for mistakes, they get put in the past, and the focus shifts onto the next match.
