'A lot more than you would expect': BBC pundit shares worrying Villa statistic that doesn't bode well for this weekend

Aston Villa have suffered a significant downturn in form over the past few weeks which culminated in a third defeat in a row on Wednesday night.

Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge in their Champions League encounter at the Jan Breydel Stadium, losing in bizarre circumstances.

Referee Tobias Stieler awarded a spot-kick to the hosts after Tyrone Mings rolled back a short goal-kick to Emi Martinez with his hands.

Hans Vanaken stepped up and duly converted his penalty in the 52nd minute, which proved to be the difference between the two sides.

While Villa will feel hard done by over the penalty decision, their display was not as energetic as it could have been.

Indeed, BBC Sport pundit Stephen Warnock shared a statistic that highlights how tired the Villans looked on the night.

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Aston Villa 4km down on Club Brugge on total distance covered

Not long before the final whistle, Warnock noted on Match of the Day how Villa had covered 4km less than Brugge on the night.

He said Villa’s intensity simply wasn’t there, acknowledging that was also the case against Tottenham last week.

“Aston Villa are 4km down on Brugge on total distance covered, which is a lot more than you would expect.,” said Warnock.

“The intensity has not been there from them, and it was missing against Tottenham on Sunday too.”

How Villa have fared in their last few games

Villa’s last win in all competitions was on 22 October, when they ran out 2-0 winners over Bologna in the Champions League.

Four days later, Unai Emery’s charges drew 1-1 with Bournemouth in the Premier League, the last time they avoided defeat.

On 30 October, Villa were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace, who won 2-1 at Villa Park.

Four days later, Tottenham ran out 4-1 winners over the claret-and-blue outfit, and now Villa have lost 1-0 to Club Brugge.

Villa are next in action on Saturday night when they head to Liverpool in an 8pm kick-off, and they will need to pick themselves up quickly ahead of such a daunting fixture.