The thrashing at Newcastle exposed flaws in the Spaniard’s gameplan – a glitch or a real measure of his side’s standing?
Heavy defeats perhaps aren’t what they used to be. Spain won the Women’s World Cup despite a 4-0 defeat to Japan in the group stage. Manchester United finished third in the Premier League last year despite losing 7-0 at Liverpool. Brighton came sixth despite losing 5-1 at home to Everton. There may still be a stigma to a heavy loss, but it is perhaps not the indicator of fundamental flaws it once was.
Still, it was intriguing to hear Sir Alex Ferguson say that Aston Villa had played “fantastic football” in their 5-1 defeat at Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season – even if there was immediate apparent vindication as they beat Everton 4-0 in their next game. But did Villa play particularly well in that game or was it more a case of Everton capitulating, their confidence shaken by an unfortunate loss to Fulham on the opening day and further rattled by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s head injury?
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