Unai Emery's irrelevant response to the first question from the pitchside reporter at Old Trafford was telling. The Aston Villa coach Emery reflected on the 39 points they had already accumulated. "Not bad," he quipped.
What was bad was Villa's game management. Emery knew Villa threw it away at United, who recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on Boxing Day.
That was chiefly down to Villa's suicidal high line and the only team that has positioned their backline more recklessly is Tottenham.
There was nothing laudable or principled about Spurs inviting Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson to score a hat-trick past them in their madcap 4-1 win in November.
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