There was a moment during the press conference after Aston Villa’s 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea earlier this month when Unai Emery became unusually animated. “Always our structure was our way to perform and our way to get success,” he pointed out.

When he paused for effect, one reporter attempted to move the conversation on by asking another question. But Emery was not done yet. "We are not here with one player who is always winning matches himself," he continued. "We need our structure."

It helps to explain why Villa suffered such a dip in form recently. It was not just the quality of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara as individuals that the team was missing, it was the long-established connections that they had on the pitch.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Aston Villa’s match against West Ham

McGinn's return, scoring in back-to-back victories over Lille and West Ham, has altered the picture again. With Tielemans also back, to the delight of the crowd, Emery's men have momentum once more after...