Aston Villa’s winless start to the Premier League season continued and head coach Unai Emery spoke about Harvey Elliott’s performance against Sunderland.

Unai Emery claimed that Harvey Elliott was playing passes too quickly and ‘without’ options as Aston Villa’s woeful start to the Premier League campaign continued.

Villa were held to a 1-1 draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light yesterday. Despite the newly-promoted Black Cats being reduced to 10 men for much of the game, the visitors were unable to take advantage, with their wait for a victory this season continuing.

Elliott joined Villa on summer transfer deadline day from Liverpool on loan with an obligation to buy for £35 million. After scoring in a penalty shootout defeat by Brentford in the Carabao Cup earlier in the week, Elliott found himself back on the bench at Sunderland before being introduced in the 58th minute. While Matty Cash put Villa ahead nine minutes later, Wilson Isidor equalised for the Wearsiders.

What’s been said

Emery pointed the finger at Villa’s ‘lazy’ performance after the game and made a bizarre claim about Elliott’s display. Emery said via The Athletic: “We have to recover our identity. I am not frustrated with the result, but how we are playing. We are not feeling comfortable with our style. We have to try to recover our personality and confidence to play like we are training.

“We were lazy sometimes. Lazy. The goal we conceded, we were lazy. Perhaps that’s because we didn’t play in our style. (Ollie) Watkins is not having chances to score. He had one in the last minute. If he scores, maybe that’s the click to change everything.

“Some players need adaptation. For example, Harvey Elliott, a little bit he was getting the ball and so quick doing passes behind the defence without options. He needs to understand: ‘Okay, Harvey, you have skills to play more passes, more passes, more passes, and then to do the pass behind, outside or inside,’ in better positions to get something more. And then, as well, we were lazy, sometimes defensively lazy. For example, the way we conceded we were lazy.

“Ah, lazy — sometimes lazy when we are playing here away, we have to fight the duels, and we were not fighting all duels. I watched the goal we conceded, and we were lazy. We were lazy, but all the team, not just the centre-backs or Cash. We are lazy.

“Usually the players have (the right) attitude. But sometimes maybe they are a bit upset or not feeling good, they are not fighting. It is not something I can tell them like a punishment. Collectively, we have to try and understand and feel better.“

Slot on Elliott’s Liverpool departure

Liverpool reluctantly allowed Elliott to depart at the end of the summer transfer window. The attacking midfielder spent six years at Anfield after joining from Fulham. Elliott, a boyhood Red, made a total of 149 appearances, recording 15 goals and 17 assists. He helped Arne Slot’s side win the Premier League last term, as well as the FA Cup and two Carabao Cups.

However, the arrival of Florian Wirtz for £100 million from Bayer Leverkusen meant that Elliott fell further down the Liverpool pecking order and was granted an exit to facilitate his desire for regular football.

Slot said on Elliott’s departure: “Harvey is in a very good place going to a very nice club in Aston Villa and it is in the interest of everyone as he did not get the playing time he probably deserved for the quality that he has and he conducted himself always so well, he acted inside with him not playing so much. He was always doing whatever was best for the club and he deserves a big compliment for that.

“Everybody always talks about Mo [Salah] and Virgil [Van Dijk] if we win the league but players like him were the reason we could win it because he was positive even when he would only play five or ten minutes to help the team. That is partly the success of the team and I think he is ready to show his quality at Aston Villa.”