Matt Maher: Time running out for Unai Emery to spark Aston Villa's Premier League season back to life

There was obvious disappointment at the result and frustration at his team’s failure to stay cool at the moment, midway through the second half, when the game briefly seemed theirs for the taking.

But by and large, the message was the same as it has been over the past month, with Emery emphasising the need to “keep balance”.

If he and his team are still managing to do that, then an increasing number of Villa’s fanbase are not.

Sunday’s defeat, their team’s third on the spin in the league, was the cause of only heightened anxiety over their prospects of retaining a top-five position between now and the end of the season.

Taking the emotion out of the equation, in some ways Villa’s performance at Old Trafford ranked among their more encouraging of 2026.

The inclusion of Ross Barkley in the starting XI added greater midfield control. When the midfielder swept home the equaliser in the 64th minute, it was no less than Villa deserved to that point.

Yet United are one of the division’s form teams and Villa aren’t. In simple terms, the match was decided by one team who simply knows how to win, against another who right now appears to have forgotten. 

When United got their chance, they were ruthless and Villa wasteful. Barkley’s finish aside, they are a side suffering from a collective lack of conviction in attack.

The good news, from Villa’s perspective, is they will not face an opponent of similar quality until the final day of the season at Manchester City.

All that said, this was still a weekend where the biggest positives for Emery came from elsewhere, through the failings of Chelsea and Liverpool - once again - to take advantage of his side’s struggles.

On Sunday evening, with Chelsea’s misplaced arrogance and Liverpool’s lethargy dominating the discussion on TV and radio, it was difficult to determine which of the three teams is currently in worse shape. 

Regardless, two of them are likely to be playing in the Champions League next season and it is Villa, still, who hold the advantage in the table.

There, at least, is one reason to be cheerful.

The flip side, of course, is Villa cannot rely on the stumblings of their rivals forever. Or indeed, for much longer. The healthy cushion they once held is now worryingly thin and positive results for Chelsea and Liverpool early next weekend would leave them down in sixth, heading into Sunday’s visit of West Ham.

That fixture, their last in the league for three weeks, feels a huge one in terms of kickstarting the season. 

The remaining schedule, which includes meetings with four of the bottom five, is not the kind which would have held much fear for Villa at most points of Emery’s reign.  

But this is also a team which lost to Wolves, failed to beat Leeds and laboured past Brighton since the start of February. It’s hard to have too much faith right now in their ability to take care of business against the division’s lesser lights.

Optimists will point to Emery’s proven ability to pull his team out of a slide. Time and again during his reign, Villa have emerged from bad times stronger. 

That’s the hope and a reason for supporters to still trust in the manager yet, if Emery is to pull it off again and avoid this league season becoming one of huge regret, time is increasingly of the essence.