Bryan King blasts ‘shocking’ Aston Villa after what he saw in FA Cup loss v Chelsea
Aston Villa were “shocking” in their FA Cup fourth-round defeat against Chelsea, according to ex-Villa scout Bryan King.
Unai Emery’s side were knocked out of England’s oldest cup competition as Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners at Villa Park on Wednesday 7 February.
It was only the second time Villa had lost at home all season on what was an underwhelming night for the club, and King couldn’t quite believe what he saw from the home side.
Speaking to Villa News, King said: “They got outplayed, totally outplayed. They couldn’t get up to the tempo which Chelsea started on with the visitors putting Villa under pressure from the very first minute.
“I was very impressed with Chelsea and very disappointed with Villa, as I imagine the supporters would have been. Looking at the league table and the teams’ most recent results, people would have certainly put their money on Villa.
“It was a very disappointing result. They need to put things right as quickly as possible, they’re playing Manchester United on Sunday so they will want to get things sorted by then.
“I thought Villa would beat Chelsea, and you could say this was perhaps one of the shocks of the FA Cup fourth round.
“Defensively they were shocking and I was waiting for Chelsea to score more, to be honest.
“They still have European football and they’re of course challenging for a top-four spot in the Premier League and they now have a very big game ahead of them on Sunday.”
Aston Villa must avoid third straight Villa Park defeat vs Manchester United
After a difficult night against Chelsea, things don’t get any easier for Emery’s men on the weekend.
They will welcome United to the West Midlands, with Erik ten Hag’s side beginning to find a bit of form with back-to-back league victories over West Ham and Wolves.
Following an impressive 15-match winning run in front of their own supporters, Villa are at risk of losing three on the bounce at home while offering United a chance to close the gap on the top four of the Premier League in the process.
Emery will be keen to avoid this fate and knows that a much-improved performance will be needed from the display his side put in against Chelsea.
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