Burnley survival hopes suffer major blow with defeat to Aston Villa

Nobody can be certain which version Aston Villa will turn up this season. From the brilliant to the below par and back again. A Jekyll and Hyde side if ever there was. It is part of the charm in many ways.  

Only maximum points from here will match last season’s tally, but even without that, Villa could still achieve a top-half finish for the first time since 2011. Progress without perfection then?  

Their feet-finding under Steven Gerrard continues, goals from Danny Ings, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins adding steadiness. The former pair have struggled to make the impression their summer price-tags suggested plausible. But replacing Frankenstein’s footballer was an impossible task and not every impact is instant.  

Ings’ haunted his former employer for the fourth consecutive game, and more pertinently, his understanding with Watkins continues to develop. Behind them Buendia - the Championship’s gritty heartbeat last season - spun much magic. A slow-burner finding his top-flight feet.  

“I thought we were better and stronger in every department,” said Gerrard, who was even prepared to overlook Maxwell Cornet’s stoppage time consolation. “I’m slightly frustrated we didn't see it out to get a clean sheet. But I won't let it spoil what I thought was a fantastic performance.” 

Defeat was a body-check for Burnley, Michael Jackson’s four match honeymoon ending abruptly. Even by his standards, James Anderson’s face was stern as he watched on. But that Burnley remain alive and fighting is a minor miracle. Four points from safety with eight to play, until Sunday at least, they remain outside the bottom three. A rapid reset is required.  

“We got punished for a couple of errors,” Jackson admitted. “You have to look at the big picture - we’d have taken ten points from five games. I’ve been in football long enough to know that from one defeat the sky is falling in, but the next minute you’re the king. We have to keep level. We know what we need to do.” 

Most alarming for Jackson will be the ease with which Villa cut them apart. The match was young when Buendia dissected the defence. Ings’ finish and celebration were cool, while the 3,000 travelling fans - many of whom had descended upon the adjacent cricket ground for a pre-match ale - celebrated wildly.   

In an experimental-feeling Villa line-up, Buendia ticked metronomically, Douglas Luiz relished his more advanced number ‘number eight’ role and both full-backs overlapped merrily. The second goal involved the duo, Matty Cash’s cross finding Watkins. An interchange with Ings saw Lucas Digne fed, and Buendia netted the cut-back. A nick off James Tarkowski cruelly unsighted Nick Pope.  

Watkins’ diving header made it three post-break, and brought a deafening silence within Turf Moor. Again, Buendia was the orchestrator, playing in John McGinn to cross. Zippy triangular passes and clinical finishing. Simple.   

Gerrard calls for more ruthlessness had been answered: “We’ve got a lot of people who are going to fight and scrap and do the dirty work for us. I said to them before the game that ‘it is important that when our moments come, the front three win us the game’. They were ruthless. And the service from little Emi was outstanding.” 

Burnley were not poor; simply sloppy at the wrong moments, before fizzling when faced with a three-goal deficit.  

Their main attacking threat came from Dwight McNeil, who is playing with a smile again. His twisting and turning meant Lucas Digne proved an inadequate dance partner.

At one down, McNeil’s cross was just behind Wout Weghorst, meaning the header was misdirected. Weghorst was also off target after McNeil had freed Ashley Barnes on the counter.    

What McNeil’s game is sorely missing though is goals; no-one in the Premier League has taken more shots without netting. Two efforts to halve the deficit brought routine saves for Emi Martinez.  

Until Cornet’s strike, the second-half offered little but frustration for the locals. When Jackson withdrew Barnes for Erik Pieters, damage limitation was the primary aim.   

Before that, Tarkowski had limped off. With Ben Mee already out, the concern is significant. If that is the last Burnley fans see of Tarkowski, it would be unfitting end.  

The Premier League’s financial incentives are no secret. But for Burnley, there comes added jeopardy. The club’s first accounts since ALK Capital’s December 2020 takeover, detailed a £65 million loan from MSD Holdings. Currently, only interest is payable until December 2025, but with relegation, comes accelerated repayment terms. High stakes indeed.   

All that means Burnley cannot stop. They do not have enough.