Analysis: Unai Emery managing deep resources well as Aston Villa continue to climb

On Saturday at Southampton the number brought only joy for Villa. Three substitutes, three goals and three points which moved Unai Emery’s team within striking distance of third-placed Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The 3-0 victory was the third in a row away from home in the league without conceding for a squad which has rediscovered the art of winning on the road and can lay serious claim to being the strongest, if not certainly the healthiest unit, in the top-flight right now. This was the first time three players had come off the bench and scored in a Premier League match.

There will be few plaudits, of course, for beating Southampton, a team which still has work to do to avoid being remembered as the league’s worst ever.

Yet for 72 minutes the Saints had done a good job of frustrating a Villa side who knew they simply could not afford to slip-up and drop points on a weekend when their rivals in the race for Champions League football were also favoured to win.

When Aaron Ramsdale guessed right and saved Marco Asensio’s penalty diving to his left, the nightmare scenario loomed that bit larger for Emery’s men.