“Show some fight!” yelled an Aston Villa supporter, sitting in the Trinity Road Stand. The whistles and boos grew louder and more frequent, the home supporters pleading with the players to do better.

This was not what you would expect at the stadium of a team that could have qualified for the Champions League on Sunday, if results had gone their way. There was no celebration, and optimism was in short supply.

Instead, the 2-1 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur showed a jarring discord between what supporters wanted — intensity, energy, excitement, forward thinking, basically anything that showed a desire to win — and what Unai Emery and his players seemed to favour, which was to channel their priorities towards Thursday, when a potentially era-defining Europa League semi-final second leg awaits.

Villa have taken 19 points from 16 league matches in 2026, the 13th-best record in the Premier League since the turn of the year. Plainly, they have not been in consistent or compelling form for some time. The seven changes Emery made to the starting line-up against Tottenham only exacerbated the unsteadiness of Villa’s league form. 

The atmosphere was at odds with Villa’s standing in the league and a possible Europa League final, should they overcome a 1-0 deficit against Nottingham Forest. It spoke of a deeper anxiety and frustration that Villa are prone to sleepwalking and, fearing for Thursday, of doing so in high-profile, high-pressure matches.

The scar tissue from the 3-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat at Crystal Palace last season and then a galling 2-0 loss at Manchester United, when they missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day, has blemished the skin. Villa have to wake up in time for Thursday.

Emery declared in his programme notes that his players were “laser focused” for Spurs’ visit. Victory would have all but secured entry in Europe’s premium competition for next season, achieving one key objective and restoring confidence.

However, it swiftly became evident that the wholesale changes created a patchwork side. Roberto De Zerbi referred to Villa’s “important game” in his first post-match answer. It was the major elephant in the room and appeared to influence every wrinkle of Villa’s performance.

Villa Park demanded more energy, whistling for pressure on the ball and forward passes. The lack of intensity was evident in Conor Gallagher’s strike for Spurs’ first goal, with Villa players nowhere near close enough to block.

Supporters sensed the team were sluggish, as they were during the previous league fixture at Fulham last week. They attempted to cajole the forwards into closing down Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and delivered loud, prolonged groans when the many misplaced passes fell to an opponent or when players often lost their duels.

Supporters sensed the ending to the game from the start, in truth. They feared another malaise-ridden, ponderous performance, in which Emery’s yearning for control and methodical build-up play would splutter into a sideways, futile possession drill.

They sensed that Spurs, for all their own malfunctions, could win the match inside the first half an hour, having forced Emiliano Martinez into two saves and ripped through Villa’s midfield with ease. By the 36th minute, 45 per cent of all Villa’s passes had been between the two central defenders, Victor Lindelof and Tyrone Mings.

With every extra touch taken by a defender, the whistles became sharper. Mings gestured for patience and control from his team-mates, while supporters, in contrast, were crying out for quicker, forward passes. The last resort of one fan, at the end of his tether early on, was to simply and gutturally shout “forward!” until everyone could hear.

With captain John McGinn having been ruled out with a tight hamstring, Mings had taken the armband for this match. Afterwards, he aptly summed up Villa’s first-half issues, citing a lack of “desire, fight and energy”.

The precision that punctuated Emiliano Buendia’s winning goal in the reverse fixture in October felt a distant memory. Damningly, the 2-0 half-time scoreline was merciful on Villa. Richarlison’s header had come after slack marking and, once more, delayed pressure on the ball.

Villa had registered 38 per cent possession, one touch in Spurs’ box, zero shots and a blank figure for expected goals. The first effort on target did not arrive until the 96th minute, when Buendia scored a consolation that only served to flatter Villa.

The boos peaked at half-time and full time, with the referee’s whistle on both occasions allowing the several isolated shouts to become a collective. It is hard to remember a time under Emery, still considered a deity in these parts, when fans showed such frustration so early on. Or, indeed, at all. 

Villa’s usual animated touchline, with Emery kicking every ball, straining and whizzing his arms around, was very different on Sunday. He, along with the substitutes warming up, turned into statues.

Oddly but revealingly, Emery stood with his hands in his pockets for a lot of the time. It was arguably the least intense he has been on the touchline this season.

Unai Emery was unusually passive on the touchline on Sunday (Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images)

It would have been understandable if supporters had lost heart after the break had their manager and bench showed signs of concentrating on the next fixture. If that was the case, it felt a contradiction to keep Matty Cash, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers — three dead-cert starters against Forest — on for the duration.

Empty seats were visible throughout the stadium by full time, perhaps reducing the intensity of boos.

Villa’s league results have shown a cyclical element this season. They started terribly, enjoyed an acute spike over the winter and are now plateauing once more. 

Success this season has been marked by the team’s resilience, finding a way to win in many hard-fought and tight matches, shown in having only a plus-four goal difference, combined with, most importantly, Emery’s exceptional managerial acumen.

Villa (on 58 points) could feasibly end up with the lowest tally of Emery’s three full seasons, having accrued 68 in his first and 66 in his second. This highlights a slight decline, even if the end result, such as Champions League qualification and a possible Europa League title, might suggest otherwise.

Emery rankled at the implication that seven changes meant attention was elsewhere, yet the listless nature of defeat only deepened the diminishing confidence.

As Villa’s director of football, Damian Vidagany, stated after the first leg against Forest, this Thursday is the “match of our lives”. In the aftermath of the defeat against Spurs, the already severe pressure has cranked up further.