Aston Villa suffer Real Sociedad defeat as Unai Emery continues pre-season preparations

The result will have frustrated Villa’s demanding head coach, who is known for his pursuit of high standards, but there is still time for his squad to develop ahead of the start of the campaign.

With several senior players still unavailable and a number of new faces yet to settle into the group, the fixture against the La Liga side offered an opportunity for emerging talents including Brian Madjo, George Hemmings and Modou Cisse to make an impression. Teenage striker Madjo was one of the standout performers.

The forward, who joined Villa from Metz in January for £10 million, is currently awaiting the outcome of the club’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as they attempt to register the England Under-17 international.

Madjo does not turn 18 until January next year, with FIFA regulations preventing under-18 players from completing international transfers in most circumstances. Villa have argued that the striker was born in London and should therefore be exempt, despite his three appearances for Luxembourg.

At 6ft 4in, Madjo has already drawn comparisons with Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku due to his physical presence, and he demonstrated his attacking instincts by scoring Villa’s equaliser in the second half.

The club remain interested in adding another striker, with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson among their targets, but Madjo provides another option for Emery to develop behind the scenes.

His finish to make it 2-2 after 56 minutes was a simple one, but it highlighted his awareness inside the penalty area. The teenager caused problems throughout the match, using his strength and power to unsettle Sociedad’s defence.

With Ollie Watkins still away following England’s World Cup campaign and Tammy Abraham returning from a shoulder injury. Madjo has an opportunity to continue impressing Emery during pre-season.

Although he is currently unable to feature in competitive matches, Villa will hope the appeal is successful and could eventually unleash a promising young forward either later this season or at the start of 2027.

Emery still has work to do

Despite the encouraging performances from some younger players, Emery was visibly frustrated at times during the defeat.

The Villa boss spent much of the first half communicating instructions from the touchline, with the manager looking to ensure his players followed his tactical demands.

Youngsters Madjo and 19-year-old midfielder George Hemmings appeared to struggle at times with Emery’s instructions to provide more width, while winger Luka Lynch was repeatedly told to hold his position in the second half.

“Don’t move” was the message delivered to Lynch, which needed repeating before the teenager eventually stayed in position and received the ball.

Villa’s starting XI included Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia, but many of Emery’s key players were unavailable.

The club’s World Cup contingent of Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Victor Lindelof, Emi Martinez and record signing Johan Manzambi did not feature, while Lucas Digne’s proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain is still awaiting completion.

Of Villa’s summer arrivals, only Modou Cisse and Joao Gomes featured, with Cisse having initially joined from LASK last summer before spending the campaign back with the Austrian club.

The departures of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, alongside Amadou Onana’s long-term knee injury, have contributed to a busy summer for Emery.

Sociedad punish Villa mistakes

The match itself was an open contest, with Sociedad responding after Villa took the lead through Hemmings.

Carlos Soler levelled the scores before Orri Oskarsson, Gorka Carrera and Inaki Ruperez added further goals for the Spanish side.

Alejandro Garnacho was absent after completing his loan move from Chelsea last week, although the Argentine winger is expected to join Villa’s pre-season tour in Indonesia.

With several players still away on international duty or recovering from injury, including Boubacar Kamara, Villa remain short on numbers.

That situation means departures for fringe players such as Leon Bailey or Evann Guessand are unlikely to be a priority while the squad remains stretched. Guessand has only recently returned to training following his involvement with Ivory Coast at the World Cup.

Villa will now continue their pre-season schedule with matches against Indonesia All-Stars on Saturday, BG Pathum United next Tuesday and Bayern Munich in Hong Kong on 7 August.

After returning from their tour, Emery’s side will face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg on 12 August, with preparations set to intensify ahead of the new campaign.