Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
Hurzeler lauds Brighton comeback after finding missing confidence
Fabian Hurzeler insisted Brighton will always have setbacks as the German revelled in his side finding their "missing" confidence after Sunday's comeback victory over Tottenham.
Brighton were outclassed in the first half at the Amex Stadium as Brennan Johnson and James Maddison sent Spurs deservedly leading 2-0 into half-time.
Hurzeler's high line was once again punished at will by the visitors in that opening period, though Yankuba Minteh's blasted finish shortly after the break offered the home side hope.
Georginio Rutter swiftly followed Minteh's strike up with a fine goal of his own, before the former Leeds United man played a key part in the winner as his deflected cross found Danny Welbeck.
Questions appeared to be mounting on Hurzeler after a four-game winless run, though the 31-year-old silenced some of those doubts with this 3-2 comeback triumph.
"In the process, it is normal to have bad performances as the process is not linear, it's up-and-down, you have to accept these downs," the Brighton boss told Sky Sports after the game.
"You have to focus on your own quality and that is what I said to the team: focus on the process. That is how you react to bad performances."
When pressed on the confidence lacking in his team after their recent struggles, he added: "I think a little bit was missing. Being ruthless is the most important.
"In the duels we were not ruthless and if you win the personal duels and get the ball into the opponent's half you get self-confidence, that was the biggest change.
"I always say 'we have enough quality to always score' [but] it is always important to learn from the first half."
Rutter has now scored in back-to-back Premier League appearances, also netting against Chelsea, having failed to score in any of his first 15 outings in the competition across his spell with Leeds and now Brighton.
His individual exploits proved the difference in the second half, though the Frenchman insisted Brighton's comeback was more about battling than tactics.
"We are happy and stayed together like the coach said 'we have to believe'. That is what we do. We have three points so we're happy," Rutter said.
"What we said at half-time was 'it's not about tactics, it's about fighting'."
Welbeck scored his 27th Premier League goal for Brighton here, too, though it was just his second winning goal for the Seagulls, also netting what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Leicester City in September 2021.
The veteran attacker, who could have scored another in the first half from Kauro Mitoma's cross, echoed a similar sentiment to Rutter.
"In the first half we were bitterly disappointed and frustrated, the performance we put in was embarrassing," Welbeck said. "Nothing we want to be part of, but we showed our character.
"The attitude was right in the second half we came out and fought. We have got to give credit to the senior boys who are not on the pitch the likes, of Steely [Jason Steele] and Milner [James Milner], they told us the bare minimum is we've got to fight. Everyone is together in this.
"We want to be challenging the establishment like the management touched upon."
Postecoglou blasts 'worst defeat' of his tenure after Spurs collapse
A fuming Ange Postecoglou brandished Tottenham's collapse against Brighton as the nadir of his Premier League tenure after Sunday's 3-2 defeat.
Brennan Johnson's well-taken opener marked his sixth goal in as many games across all competitions before James Maddison's first-half finish had Spurs leading 2-0 at the break on the south coast.
However, Fabian Hurzeler's hosts managed a remarkable turnaround as Georginio Rutter levelled after Yankuba Minteh's strike, before Danny Welbeck completed a remarkable turnaround just past the hour.
It was just the second time that Tottenham lost a Premier League game they led by two goals in their last 166 such matches (W159 D5), and Postecoglou fumed at the full-time whistle.
The Tottenham manager said on Sky Sports: "Disappointing, frustrated and absolutely gutted with that. It's the worst defeat since I've been here.
"Unacceptable second half, and nowhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going.
"We kind of accepted our fate [in the second half] and it is hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We paid the price.
"The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself."
Sunday also marked the 10th time that Tottenham have lost a Premier League game in which they led by two or more goals, becoming the first club to hit double figures for this unwanted record.
Though their second-half collapse may have some fans lamenting a typical Spurs performance, Postecoglou insists finding a solution remains solely on his shoulders.
"There is no message," the Australian said when asked what he would tell his players. "It is a terrible loss for us, as bad as it gets. There is only one way to fix it and that's my responsibility.
"We lost all our duels and if you're not competitive it is not going to work; we were not competitive.
"They all go on international duty the majority of them, they will process it individually and I will process it when everyone gets back."
Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Rutter inspires remarkable Seagulls comeback
Brighton managed a remarkable second-half comeback as Georginio Rutter scored one and played a key role for another in a thrilling 3-2 home victory over Tottenham.
Ange Postecoglou's visitors had won their last five games, including their EFL Cup and Europa League exploits, and started well on Sunday as in-form Brennan Johnson scored for a sixth straight outing.
James Maddison doubled the away side's lead before the interval, aided by Bart Verbruggen's handling blunder, but Yankuba Minteh halved that deficit after the restart with a thumping finish.
Destiny Udogie was somewhat at fault for Minteh's finish, and the Spurs defence again struggled as Rutter restored parity before the hour mark after dancing around a couple of defenders.
Former Leeds United star Rutter then edged past numerous Tottenham charges once more, with his cross deflecting up for Danny Welbeck to head in the 66th-minute winner and seal a memorable turnaround.
Verbruggen was still required to deny Udogie late on, however, as Fabian Hurzeler's side held on for a victory that lifted them to sixth and ended Spurs' impressive winning run.
Data Debrief: Johnson's heroics in vain
Johnson has now scored in each of his last six appearances in all competitions, becoming the first Spurs player to do so since departed talisman Harry Kane between December 2018 and January 2019.
The winger's six goals across 10 appearances this season are also more than he managed in 34 outings for Spurs last campaign, though Johnson's efforts proved ultimately in vain.
Sunday marked the 10th time that Tottenham have lost a Premier League game in which they led by two or more goals – they are the first club to hit double figures for this, and have done so three more times than any other club in the competition's history.
Indeed, this memorable turnaround saw Brighton win a league game after trailing by two or more goals at half-time for the first time since a 3-2 victory against Charlton in the Championship in December 2015.
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