Villa’s first defeat and the need to bounce back

After Friday night’s disappointing defeat to Leeds United, Aston Villa’s impressive 100% winning start to the Premier League season was brought to an end in fairly emphatic fashion. What matters now is what Villa do next and how they react to that disappointment.

Iain Dowie once popularised a term when discussing a crucial component of his promotion chasing Crystal Palace team; “bouncebackability”. Simply put, to achieve success, a team needs to show the ability to react positively to any setbacks.

View Across the Dugout: Leicester City vs. Aston Villa -East vs. West

Monday 8th March 2020. The night of our last visit to Leicester and the King Power Stadium. It was a miserable trip, a humiliating 4-0 defeat against a side we’d fought hard to beat over 2 legs a month earlier in the Carabao Cup Semi-finals. Little did we know, it would also mark the final time we’d be allowed inside stadiums for the foreseeable future. All in all, not a fond memory.