Emery urges Aston Villa to regain identity after winless start continues

Unai Emery wants Aston Villa to regain their identity after failing to hold onto a lead during their 1-1 draw with 10-man Sunderland in the Premier League.

Villa are still seeking their first win of the season, but did score their first goal of the campaign thanks to Matty Cash's 67th-minute strike.

However, Sunderland, who had been down to 10 men since Reinildo Mandava's 33rd-minute sending-off, equalised through Wilson Isidor just eight minutes later.

Villa had late chances to win the game, with both Ollie Watkins and Cash failing to make contact with Jadon Sancho's cross late in stoppage time, leaving them on just three points after five games.

They have failed to win any of their first five league games in a season for only the fourth time, though the last time that happened was 1969-70 in the second tier (first nine).

And Emery wants his players to go back to the basics of their identity as they try to build up some confidence ahead of the start of their Europa League campaign.

"We are disappointed and frustrated – not for the result, because we should win this match playing with one more player, but the most important thing is how," Emery said.

"And we have to try to recover and work again with our identity, playing with a style we want to build and a style we had positive experiences with, being successful.

"My frustration is more with that. There is still work to do; some players are adapting in the squad and our idea, and they will need time.

"Other players were here last year and know how we want to build the team and how we were being successful in the last three years.

"Our start, we've not been doing well. We drew and we didn't lose. That is a positive thing, but it's not enough.

"Now, I'm a little bit worried, not for the result and how we are in the table, but more so how we are not playing with our identity, trying to dominate and impose with the players we have, playing in our style."

Sunderland, meanwhile, are only the third newly promoted team in the last seven Premier League seasons (since 2019-20) to win as many as eight points from their opening five games of a campaign.

Isidor has proven a key part of their bright start, becoming the first player to score in each of his first three top-flight home appearances since Steven Bergwijn for Tottenham in 2019-20.

They had to work hard for their point on Sunday, keeping their unbeaten streak at the Stadium of Light going, and Regis Le Bris noted how important it was after playing over an hour with 10 men.

"The value of this one is really important because we had different experiences today," he told BBC Match of the Day.

"We started really well, 11 v 11, we were in our game plan, 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."