You could hear the cries of anguish from the Aston Villa analysts in the eight seconds and three passes between Ollie Watkins giving the ball away and Dominic Solanke scoring for Tottenham Hotspur.

Villa leveled in the last fifteen minutes of the match. The ball was played into the path of Watkins, who – knowing Jhon Duran was next to him and smelling the chance to be on top two-on-two – wanted to attack quickly.

He turned into Ben Davies and tried to hit the ball past the centre-back but ran into a wall.

Davies’ block spilled the ball towards Pape Matar Sarr, who had space to deliver a pass through Villa’s disorganized midfield.

The analysts’ annoyance mirrored Villa’s technical annoyance. Unai Emery’s game plan – based on deep organization and limiting space and turnover – had become a transitional measure in one fleeting, punishing passage. It crystallized the contradictions of Villa’s setup, which are usually apparent under Emery.

In his post-match press conference, Emery reiterated how ‘transitions’ were fundamental to Tottenham’s attacking patterns. This affected Villa’s thinking from a defensive point of view as they sat noticeably deeper out of possession and tried to reduce the space between the lines.

This was demonstrated in the winning line of both teams’ average possession – how high or deep both regained possession – with Villa conceding possession just 21 yards from their goal.

However, the conservative blueprint seemed in contrast to Emery’s second-half substitutions, with Duran’s entrance – six minutes before Solanke’s first goal – putting the striker alongside Watkins. Naturally, the presence of two attackers meant that Villa attacked directly and with fewer passes – normally a no-go under Emery.

It seemed like a risky trade to have Watkins and Duran together at this stage of the match, especially away from home, against a fellow Champions League champion. The decision came at the expense of Morgan Rogers, who despite the protests of 22-year-old Emery, felt it necessary to come off after two blows to the legs.

Regardless, Duran was a stylistically contrasting option. Rogers is a ball carrier, key to Villa moving from a squat, deeper shape to driving upfield. Defensively, Rogers closed the gap behind Watkins – the space where Sarr could advance the ball towards goal without any pressure.

The call to merge Duran and Watkins comes with drawbacks that came to light within seconds. They are two number 9s who do well playing on the last line and occupy similar spaces. The impact a future partnership has on Villa’s overall structure, with and without the ball, is acute and requires a balance to be struck.

Emery usually times his substitutions well. Thanks in large part to Duran’s impact, Villa has scored the most Premier League goals from substitutes (10) and the most goals (10 goals, seven assists) from the bench in 2024. On this occasion, however, Duran’s arrival had the opposite effect as he registered four touches in 30 minutes and only seemed to exacerbate a dysfunctional second-half display.

When asked about the thinking behind pairing Duran and Watkins, Emery said: “Because it’s a possibility. I have to try to give minutes to those players on the field and how we can get better with those players. It’s the process that we have and we build a team. We try to have a strong structure in everything. A situation we have to work with is those two strikers. We have to give them the opportunity to gain confidence.”

Pairing Duran with Watkins (above) was risky at that stage of the match (Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

With ten minutes of normal playing time remaining, three substitutes were introduced. This also became a source of frustration for some fans, as Jaden Philogene, Leon Bailey and Boubacar Kamara had finished when the score was level, but still came on with Villa trailing 3–1.

Tottenham scored twice in four minutes and pulled the rugs out from under Villa’s feet. Players looked to the sky and Watkins exchanged words with Lucas Digne; cutting figures that were very different from the players who had walked confidently through the tunnel at half time when a goal was ahead.

For large periods of the first half, Villa stuck to their pattern in big games. They understood their defensive responsibilities. Watkins registered just two touches in the opening 25 minutes as Villa granted Tottenham more possession and territory but limited chances to long, hopeful shots. And just like last season in the same match, they scored themselves through a set play.

However, there is a fine line between organization and passivity, and Villa have increasingly leaned towards the latter. Emery often speaks of his side as the ‘main players’ in games, but they never gave the feeling of being at the forefront against Spurs until Duran’s substitution tipped the balance completely in the opposite direction.

Unlike last year – and perhaps influenced by their lead – Villa did not show better intent early in the second half. At the time, Villa’s substitutions were inspired, offering much more incision and pace while maintaining solid foundations. This time, Tottenham scored three minutes after the break, as Emery put it afterwards, “their first action”.

Despite Brennan Johnson’s goal creating new momentum and lifting the home support, Villa still had time to stabilize. Alarmingly, they only became more cautious.

Emery may have recognized this and introduced Duran in an effort to encourage more purpose. It didn’t work.

Reflecting the hesitation that had spread, Johnson skipped around Amadou Onana, Villa’s best player of the day, in extra time. The Belgium international stuck out just one foot and, in a precursor to giving away a potential foul, raised both hands in the air, palms facing outwards, and gestured that he had not made contact. In the meantime, Johnson had already run off with the ball.

James Maddison scored Tottenham’s fourth and Emery retired to the bench. He stressed the importance of Villa remaining ’emotionally balanced’ after a second-half thumping, even though the performance and his substitutions seemed very uncharacteristic.

(Top photo: Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)