Aston Villa's Premier League winning streak came to an end with a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield. Despite the loss, manager Unai Emery remains optimistic that his team will soon find their scoring touch.
Villa's Anfield Woes
Liverpool secured the victory with goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch, ending their own four-game winless run. Villa, however, contributed to their own misfortune, with Emiliano Martinez's poor pass leading to Salah's goal and Pau Torres deflecting Gravenberch's shot into the net.
Missed Opportunities
Villa did have their chances, with Morgan Rogers hitting the post early on and Matty Cash's deflected cross nearly sneaking in. However, their attacking struggles continue, having scored only nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season – the fewest Emery's side has managed at this stage of a season in Europe's top five leagues.
They only managed to create 0.3 expected goals (xG) from their 10 shots, with just three hitting the target. Despite these stats, Emery remains confident that the goals will come.
Emery's Optimism
"We competed, and we dominated sometimes," Emery told BBC Sport. "We were feeling good, and we created some chances, hit the post, and we were more or less getting confident, but here at Anfield it is hard to dominate like we did in the last 30 minutes."
He added, "We conceded one [disallowed] goal, which was a clear offside, and the goal we conceded, making the mistake, we have to be so demanding in how we are trying to stop the opponent. We are trying to get better."
Despite the defeat, Emery is focused on improving his team's performance and believes they will turn their fortunes around soon. Villa will need to find their scoring boots quickly if they want to compete for a European spot this season.