Veli Kavlak picked Beye's pocket, skipped past the defender and delivered a fine centre that Atdhe Nuhiu emphatically headed home. The first sign that there might be trouble ahead for Villa came seven minutes after the restart when Beye was caught dwelling on the ball with his back to goal. They wanted to get to the group stages and see how far they could go in this competition." It's a major blow for the players personally. "But you cannot legislate for individual mistakes from international players. You would expect a team with so many top players to keep hold of their lead longer than we did. I thought we were in total control at 1-0 and then we gave away a silly equaliser, missed the penalty and got in front again. I have never been told I was first choice and expect nothing to change until after the game on Sunday." But I must stress it is the media who have put me up as first choice. Habib Beye was at fault for the first Rapid goal and Brad Guzan, the Villa keeper, hardly covered himself in glory on the second and third.Īsked if losing was a blow to his hopes of getting the job full-time, MacDonald said: "It may have an influence. Ahead through Gabriel Agbonlahor's smart finish from Ashley Young's fine centre in the 22nd minute, Villa looked comfortable and likely to add a second, but instead their defensive shortcomings allowed Rapid to pilfer an unlikely victory. The one comfort is that the international break next week offers some breathing space, although with the transfer window closing on Tuesday, the new manager will have to be resigned to working with the same squad.īefore then Villa take on Everton on Sunday in a match that David Moyes's players will surely relish after watching the way MacDonald's side imploded here. With no other obvious candidates available, Lerner and Paul Faulkner, the Villa chief executive, will have little option but to return to a list of names that had failed to excite them the first time around. It is a scenario that plunges Villa back into crisis. After suffering back-to-back defeats, against Newcastle United and Rapid Vienna, and conceding nine goals in the process, MacDonald's chances of being appointed have all but disappeared. MacDonald has still to decide whether he is interested in the position, although on the evidence of the past five days Lerner will not be spending much time wondering what answer he will receive from the man he installed as caretaker a little more than a fortnight ago.
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