UNAI EMERY ripped into his “lazy” Aston Villa players and accused them of “lacking fight”.
Matty Cash ended the long-wait for a goal after Sunderland were reduced to ten-men but the Villains remain winless after Wilson Isidor denied them the win.
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Spaniard Emery could not hide his anger afterwards and fumed: “We are not playing like I want.
“Of course we have to adapt some players. We will need time with them, but the other players know how we want to control the game with the ball, more than without the ball.
“We were conceding a lot of chances. Chances starting with their goalkeeper, long ball, second action, throw-in, corner, in our box and of course we are conceding chances.
“It was starting with the goalkeepers. And why?
“Because we were not dominating control of the game with one player more, doing passes, making passes and taking the right moment to attack them. We were not doing it.
“We were lazy sometimes in defence really. Lazy. For example when we concede, we were lazy.
“Maybe it is the consequences, we are not feeling dominating, we are not feeling playing our style.”
Emery, whose team face Bologna next in the Europa League, added: “Normally the players they have attitude.
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“But sometimes, because maybe they are a little bit upset or they are maybe a little bit not feeling good, they are not fighting.
“This is not something individually I can tell them like a punishment. It’s something that, collectively, we have to try to understand and to try to to feel better.
“I am not today frustrated and disappointed for the result, I am frustrated and disappointed for how we played and how we are not playing or feeling comfortable with our style.
“We have to try to recover our personality.”
Meanwhile, opposite number Regis Le Bris was full of pride at how his team fought back after the double setback of Reinildo Mandava’s red card and falling behind.
And he says the point gained was even more pleasing than their two previous victories over West Ham and Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light.
The Frenchman said: “The value of this one is really important because we had different experiences today.
“We started really well 11 v 11, we were in our gameplan, well connected with the opportunities and were in a good place.
“Then the red card came – but the team reacted really well. It was important to stay 0-0 and then at half-time we decided on a new game plan.
“They did really well with the deep block and it became a set-piece game. Then after we conceded we reacted well again. The way we want to play together, to react, to suffer, we knew this would be the case often.”
Le Bris refused to confirm whether summer signing Reinildo, who faces a three-match ban, would be fined for lashing out with his foot at Cash.
But he added: “We have to respect the decision. Absolutely I’m disappointed.
“Granit Xhaka spoke in the dressing room about these red cards. He experienced this feeling before in his career, so it can happen.
“The main point was the score and the ability to win a point today.”
