Emery's title 'dream' over - but will Villa salvage top-five hopes?

Molineaux, Friday night – Rodrigo Gomes’ 89th-minute strike did more than seal Wolves’ 2-0 win; it slammed the door on Aston Villa’s flickering Premier League title ambitions and left their top-five finish dangling by a thread. Unai Emery, who had already disappeared down the tunnel before the whistle, later conceded the chase is over. “The possibility to fight for the Premier League is gone,” he admitted. “One month ago I was dreaming about maybe winning it. Now we are in the average to be in the top five.”

The numbers are stark: three victories in the last ten league outings, a lone goal for Ollie Watkins in eleven appearances, Morgan Rogers mired in a similar drought, and a dressing-room tension that spilled into public view as Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana barked at Emi Buendia to hurry off the pitch. Injuries to Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans have stripped the squad of midfield bite, exposing a thin squad that briefly dared to dream.

Villa remain third for now, but Manchester United will leapfrog them with a Sunday win at Crystal Palace, while Chelsea—19 points dropped from winning positions this term—can close within three if they upset Arsenal before arriving at Villa Park on Wednesday. Emery’s next three fixtures read like a season-defining gauntlet: Chelsea at home, Lille in the Europa League last-16 first leg, then Manchester United at Old Trafford eight days later.

The Europa League, once a potential path to ending a 30-year trophy drought, offers no respite; Lille arrive on 12 March with Villa’s confidence brittle. “We set our standards high and we have the ability to win every game,” insisted Rogers, yet even he acknowledged the psychological drag: “It does weigh on us.”

Emery, ever the pragmatist, framed the collapse within a broader overachievement. “In September I was worried and the objective was to stay in the Premier League,” he reminded. “Some supporters were dreaming. Even myself.” The dream is dead; the scramble for Champions League survival is alive, urgent and treacherous.