Emery puts his rookies on nice little LEARNER

VILLA will travel to the United States this week off the back of successive preseason defeats to Walsall and Hansa Rostock.

- By JOHN TOWNLEY

Following a 1-0 loss at the Bescot Stadium, a youthful Villa side suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Ostseestadion in Germany on Saturday.

Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring for Villa on the cusp of halftime, but David Hummel equalised for the hosts before Max Krauss completed the turnaround. Hummel added his second deep into stoppage time to seal the result. Here are the key talking points...

Learning curve

Early preseason results carry little weight - they are more about building fitness and gaining experience than chasing wins.

With several first-team players returning to training later than others, Villa manager Unai Emery has taken the opportunity to give academy players a platform to impress.

While it is unlikely many youth prospects will break into the senior squad this season, Emery is focused on their development, believing that both positive and negative experiences are valuable learning tools.

That includes tough lessons. Defender TJ Carroll made a costly mistake shortly after coming on against Rostock. He hesitated in possession, allowing Hummel to dispossess him and finish past Filip Marschall.