In Lille and 3-2 down on aggregate, Aston Villa’s players trudged back to the centre circle, enveloped by the din of 45,000 home supporters. They were trailing in the second leg of a Conference League knockout tie — sound familiar?
Standing on the halfway line, Leon Bailey looked at the screen and clock above him. Villa had 23 minutes to score.
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“Eh, eh, eh!” Bailey screamed, waiting for eye contact from team-mates. He then pointed to the clock. “We have time!”
Twenty minutes later, a combination of a fortuitous Lille implosion and Matty Cash — an unlikely scorer — meant Villa had saved themselves in time for extra time and a penalty shootout, where Emiliano Martinez’s penchant for the biggest, most pressurised occasions came to the fore.
The task that lies ahead in the semi-finals is unequivocally steeper. On Wednesday afternoon, they will touch down in Piraeus, a port city within Athens, Greece, attempting to overturn Olympiacos’ 4-2 lead. The tension and atmosphere will be cutting and the challenge — exacerbated by factors such as the two-goal deficit, increasing fatigue and continued injury concerns — has the potential to match that of an epic scene in Greek mythology.
Bailey is among Villa’s pool of growing leaders, identified by Unai Emery and encouraged to speak on the pitch, as he did in France. He is not in the leadership group — John McGinn is joined by Martinez, Tyrone Mings and Douglas Luiz — but forms the deputy strand below.
“I’m pushing (Ezri) Konsa to lead in different moments,” says Emery. “I like to explain in the dressing room in front of everyone, they are doing that. Even Leon Bailey likes to speak and Ollie Watkins is usually one step ahead trying to share our thoughts in front of other players.”
Bailey is the pertinent example, however. He was running on empty in Sunday’s sluggish 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion and has been playing with heavy strapping on his right knee since the second leg against Lille. He has lacked the dynamism and the same smoothness and is now, 50 appearances across all competitions deep, having to play at his physical limitations.
“Players are playing through pain,” said McGinn. “We did not expect Leon in Lille, never mind coming on and putting in a performance like that. Several players, including myself, had off nights. But that is when you look at the squad. We have had many injuries and many games. You are in the trenches now. You look to your left and right and hope someone digs you out.”
McGinn is Villa’s captain. His leadership style, according to team-mates and Emery, errs on the side of showing rather than telling on the pitch, but his attitude is exemplary. On occasions this season, he has reminded certain players about the standards of how to behave and speak to staff around the training ground. He is a down-to-earth, honest talker and has, lately, spoken about frustrations with his own slightly skittish performances.
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Villa’s players spent the early part of this week in full recovery mode, with Emery reiterating this was the immediate priority and did not want to look towards Greece too early. McGinn has spoken about being “knackered” and the growing appreciation he has for rest days, even if he has learned his lesson of not asking Emery, on behalf of the players, for days off, knowing the brick-wall response he will be given.
Since the start of this Premier League season and for club and country, the Scotland international has played 58 games in 267 days. This equates to a match every four and a half days over nine straight months.
Despite Villa’s recent toils and fatigue, they have stayed robust. It is why they are close to securing Champions League qualification instead of Tottenham Hotspur, who do not have the endurance to grind out results.
This is influenced by Emery’s ‘no-excuse culture’. The same remains the case now against the backdrop of mitigating factors. Players and management are undimmed in their confidence that they can overturn a two-goal deficit in Greece.
“We have the mentality of winners and I want to get to the final,” says Moussa Diaby. “We’ve lost, OK, but we’ve got a second leg. I believe in my team. We will win there, for sure. We have to go there full of energy and fight until the end. I know Villa will do this.”
Those close to Emery say his message in the dressing room is never to think of a disadvantage, be it tiredness, the lack of recovery time or injuries.
Villa have a dearth of fully fit No 10s — a key position in Emery’s system, which relies on central overloads offensively — with Morgan Rogers limping off against Brighton, Nicolo Zaniolo pulling out earlier in the day, Jacob Ramsey ruled out for the season and Youri Tielemans potentially back, though having missed the previous two matches with a groin injury.
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Villa’s message is to adapt. Developing leaders to solve on-pitch problems — expertly demonstrated by Bailey against Lille — is critical to maintaining belief and, from a tactical perspective, the control Emery desires. It is no coincidence that every press conference returns to Villa’s head coach emphasising his players must have the “right mentality”.
“We are building our mentality,” says Emery. “We were progressively getting better, being responsible and mature. There’s still work to do because we need to keep control of emotions when we are under pressure and are struggling in some moments. The maturity of the players is getting better.”
Martinez is the exception when it comes to emotions. Emery views the Argentina No 1 through a different lens, knowing the goalkeeper is at his best amid pandemonium. Lille was a case in point, as was the World Cup final – the hotter the atmosphere, the more he bathes in its sunshine.
Conversely, Martinez has the ability to take the temperature out of games. There is a confidence Martinez will be fit for the second leg after being substituted at half-time against Chelsea 11 days ago with a hamstring complaint.
Pau Torres, who was on the bench in the first leg with Villa needing to manage his minutes, is likely to feature. Tuesday’s post on X from the club felt like a pointed message, with the increasingly prevalent hashtag of #Believe used.
They had asked fans to send in video messages for players before Thursday night. It follows a theme of accruing marginal gains through supporter motivation, having changed the team’s coach journey to Villa Park so players could be greeted with a louder, more visceral welcome.
Ready to give everything.pic.twitter.com/ehzIqJaEIY
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) May 7, 2024
If he is fit, Martinez’s propensity to impact the biggest moments and assuredness will help settle those ahead of him. No player in the Premier League has spent more time on the ball than Martinez this season, often waiting, daring an opposition player into pressing him or allowing outfield players to have a breather.
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Even in a fixture they need to score at least two goals, Villa know the key is to remain patient.
In Piraeus, an allocation of 1,600 travelling supporters will hope Emery’s Villa vintage can rubber-stamp this upward trajectory with their greatest night in recent history, knowing victory would bring them back to Greece and 14km north in the heart of Athens for a European final.
(Top photo: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)