Tyrone Mings felt Aston Villa didn’t do enough to deserve anything from Wednesday night’s Premier League game against Sheffield United.
The centre-back, who was once again captain in the absence of Jack Grealish, saw the defence breached for the first time in four away games when David McGoldrick gave the Blades a first half lead.
Villa piled on the pressure as they looked for a route back into the game, but they were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage after the dismissal of Phil Jagielka.
Mings said: “Full credit to Sheffield United, they defended for their lives. No game in this league is ever going to be easy, and I think Sheffield United are a very good team.
“We couldn’t break them down. They went down to ten men and I don’t think we had the quality to break them down.
“Even before that, I don’t think we started the game with the intensity that you need to put teams on the back foot.
“It’s a missed opportunity, but we didn’t deserve to win.”
Villa are yet to string together consecutive wins in 2021, with six defeats, four victories and a draw from their 11 league matches since the turn of the year.
Their inconsistent form is a source of frustration for Mings, who knows the team are well placed to push up the table from their current position of ninth.
“I think it shows where we are as a team. We always seem to have an opportunity to put a run together and then we don’t take advantage of it,” he said.
“Looking at the bigger picture, we’ve come such a long way from the team that we were last year. That doesn’t help, sitting here losing 1-0 – it’s not a silver lining that we’re so much better than last year.
“This was a game we should have been more competitive in. We’re evolving and progressing as a team and as a club. Europe wasn’t one of our ambitions at the start of the season, but where we are at the moment I don’t think lies.
“We’ve had opportunities to push on. We’re not there yet but we’re working hard to be there.”
