"Aston Villa are rewriting the rules under Unai Emery this season. After a historically bad start, they're three points off the top of the table after 16 matches, and that's just the beginning of one of the Premier League's most peculiar title tilts. Villa are conceding the first goal and winning. They've piled up 12 points in their last five away matches by that method alone. They're playing in Europe on Thursdays and winning on Sundays, a code they were previously unable to crack."
"Villa haven't won a major trophy for 30 years and the last time they won the league title was in 1981, when Ron Saunders shaped a team in his image and squeezed from it every drop of potential. A post shared by Aston Villa (@avfcofficial) A photo posted by on There are echoes of Saunders in Unai Emery's Villa. They're in the title race for now, insofar as a title race is really being run in December, purely on the basis of their league position and form. No team in Europe's top five leagues can match Villa's current winning run and that's the kind of thing that attracts attention. To reach that level after taking 427 minutes and a ton of injury time to even score a goal takes a freakish turnaround."
Aston Villa have turned a historically bad start into a surge that leaves them three points off the top after 16 matches. The team frequently concedes first and then secures victories, accumulating 12 points in their last five away fixtures by that pattern. Villa now combine Thursday European fixtures with Sunday league wins, and they produced a run of nine consecutive goals from outside the penalty area. A long trophy drought of 30 years contrasts with a sudden winning run that echoes Ron Saunders' past influence and signals problem-solving after a poor summer and slow opening.
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