Remarkably it is now five games without a win for Unai Emery’s side in all competitions – two Premier League draws, a loss and defeat in both legs of their Europa Conference League semi-finals.
But if they finish in the top four it will be a magnificent campaign for them, securing their involvement in the European Cup for the first time since 1983 – the year before Hanks burst onto the scene with the mermaid movie ‘Splash’. Emery has certainly made a splash at this club.
For once the storyline was not about Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp in what was the manager’s penultimate game in charge. There was of course something heartfelt in the way he went over to appreciate Liverpool’s away fans and the tide of emotion is already gathering for Sunday’s grand farewell at Anfield.
Back in 1983, Klopp was just being taken on as a youth team player with TuS Ergenzingen, 15 miles from his hometown of Glatten in the Black Forest, and no-one could predict the impact he would go on to make as a manager.
For Villa, Emery is gaining a similar messianic value and whatever Spurs do, even if they beat City and triumph away to Sheffield United, and unless they score an avalanche of unanswered goals, his side will be fourth should they avoid defeat at Crystal Palace. Their goal difference is eight better.
A complication is Palace are playing wonderfully well but Villa will believe they are there. Or almost there. But they will also be kicking themselves that they did not actually get the job done here in front of their own supporters. They had the opportunities but they also made stupid mistakes.
The home fans did not immediately leave after the game and they certainly believe as the players and Emery came back out for a lap of appreciation. The flags were waved and the atmosphere felt triumphant with Emery shouting “up the Villa!” into the microphone. How they will also desperately hope it is not premature.
If it is then there will be two first-half incidents that will haunt them. The stadium announcer had hailed Emiliano Martinez as “the world’s number one”, there had been a carnival feel inside Villa Park, the home players had taken to the pitch with their children – and then after just 61 seconds they were a goal down.
And it was due to a horrendous, awful error from Martinez who fumbled Harvey Elliott’s deflected cross into his own net. He almost patted it over the line. To say it was deflected makes it sounds like it took the kind of change of direction that elicits an excuse or provides some mitigation. No, it merely brushed off Pau Torres and the look on Martinez’s face said it all.
