Aston Villa crash back down to earth in Burnley draw to leave Unai Emery facing huge decision

Unai Emery must decide what to do with his squad in Villa's final two fixtures (Reuters)

In a display of forced positivity, Emery declared himself “very, very happy” with the performance at Turf Moor. “We can feel so proud of what we are doing,” he said. “To be in the top five in the Premier League, it is fantastic.” Yet he eventually conceded: “Today the point is not enough.” But it was in keeping with their recent returns.

Villa have plenty of evidence of Emery’s alchemy; but precious little of it has been in the Premier League of late. Villa have a mere 17 points from their last 16 games, only one from the last three. “In the second part of the season we are struggling,” admitted Emery. “We are not achieving the points like in the first half.”

That may yet cost them. After losing to relegation-threatened Tottenham, Villa drew with relegated Burnley. This was the match that seemed to represent their insurance policy. They could not cash in on it. Instead, Burnley were repaid with just a second point in nine outings.

It was merited, too. Perhaps it was inevitable that Villa would not reach the heights of Thursday evening’s semi-final demolition of Nottingham Forest but they were flat for the first half-hour while, having wrestled themselves into the lead, they promptly conceded.

Ross Barkley helped ensure Aston Villa left Turf Moor with a point (Getty)

There was a wastefulness. It may not matter – should City beat Bournemouth, Villa might not need another point anyway – and Emery remains on the brink of a remarkable achievement. But the air of desperation surrounding their search for a winner betrayed the sense they could require one.

Instead, this was entertaining but inconclusive; sadly so, from a Villa perspective. The hangover from Thursday may have been a factor when they trailed. Lesley Ugochukwu’s shot was parried by Emiliano Martinez but pushed out rather obligingly into the path of Jaidon Anthony, who scored Burnley’s first goal in four games at Turf Moor.

There was to be a second, sandwiching Villa’s strikes. Zian Flemming had spurned two earlier fine chances, first to extend Burnley’s lead and then to restore it, but he did equalise with a precise finish after Hannibal Mejbri, with a cute backheel, teed him up.

Zian Flemming continued his fine individual season (Reuters)

Flemming took his tally to 10 Premier League goals. “Zian has been incredible,” said caretaker manager Michael Jackson, who was also buoyed by the skill of winger Loum Tchouna. “He was a joy to watch,” he said. And, for a change, Burnley were good to watch. “A good performance,” added Jackson. “It showed a lot of character.”

Villa’s overworked core showed signs of fatigue. “They are tired but they want to play,” said Emery. If Freiburg may not have been frightened by what they saw from Villa, the Spaniard’s side improved after a slow start. Suddenly, they applied pressure. Ross Barkley angled a shot wide. Ollie Watkins had a leveller ruled out, the striker marginally offside as he headed in Morgan Rogers’ cross. The debutant goalkeeper Max Weiss saved well from Barkley. It only delayed the equaliser by seconds as the midfielder headed in the resulting corner, taken by John McGinn.

Culpable for Burnley’s first goal, Emi Martinez created Villa’s second, pinging a 70-yard pass to Ollie Watkins, who controlled it with his shoulder and slid a shot past Max Weiss with this second. Pressing his case to understudy Harry Kane at the World Cup, he now has eight goals in 10 games. “He is doing fantastic,” added Emery. “He is a fighter.” For the moment, though, Villa have too few other form players.

Ollie Watkins scored again to bolster his hopes of a World Cup place (PA)

Yet they could soon be bracketed alongside past greats. Tony Morley, the man who set up Villa’s winner in the 1982 European Cup final and a former Burnley winger, was on the pitch at half-time. The class of 1982 may soon be joined by the team of 2026 in Villa folklore. Or they may come agonisingly close on two fronts. And the prospect of that has just increased.