Town captain Sam Morsy rued set pieces as the Blues’ downfall in their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
All three United goals came from dead ball situations, Morsy having had the final touch for the first following Bruno Fernandes’s free-kick before centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire both found the net for the hosts.
The frailties were out of character, Town having only conceded three set piece goals in the entirety of the season prior to their trip to Manchester.
Reflecting on the nature of the goals conceded, Morsy says the Blues must look at themselves following a sixth defeat in seven Premier League matches.
"They’re all different ones really,” he said. "The first one, two people moved out of the way and it hit me late, I’ll always look to see where I can do better.
"The second one there were a few ricochets and we didn’t quite clear it. Then the third one I haven’t seen it back but it looks like a free header.
"We’ve got to improve as a team, we haven’t conceded too many this season but to concede three away from home is a big ask. We score two goals and in the second half we can’t quite have that creative spark to create something in the game.
"They’re obviously good deliveries but there’s things we can do better. They are good balls in but we have to be better and stronger.
"At half-time the game is in a good place. With the set piece we should do better, it’s three set pieces tonight. I don’t think they looked like scoring, they didn’t have that many chances in open play.
"Set pieces are such a big part of the game and today we didn’t stand up and I’m disappointed for ourselves and the fans tonight.”
Town made a strong start and took the lead after just four minutes when Jaden Philogene pounced on a defensive mix-up from Patrick Dorgu to strike, with Dorgu then seeing red later in the half for a high challenge on Omari Hutchinson following a VAR review.
The Blues were level at half-time after Philogene’s second and appeared favourites playing with a man advantage, but Town lacked ideas in pursuit of getting back in the game at 3-2.
The second half performance was particularly lacklustre, with Morsy not afraid to admit they dropped below their usual levels.
"That was the most disappointing thing of the night,” the 33-year-old said. "We couldn’t find that creative spark and probably played a little bit too safe. That’s where you need a little bit of magic to open them up.
"Us at Villa with 10-men it’s hard to score against, everyone is behind the ball and it’s hard. That’s when you need that little ingenuity and a little bit of quality. We didn’t quite find that tonight.
"In the first half we had the game where we wanted it. Two set pieces can happen and we want to be better. A poor set piece again and we struggled to break them down, a disappointing evening.
"In the second half we didn’t play anywhere near our level which is the most disappointing thing to be honest because you can lose games but we didn’t show enough in the second half.”
Given the Red Devils’ poor form and numerical disadvantage, the Blues will see their trip to Old Trafford as an opportunity missed with the games running out in the fight for survival.
With 11 matches remaining, Town are five points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers having won only three league matches all season.
"It was a great opportunity for us and it could have went another way but it wasn’t good enough from us tonight.
"We weren’t at the level and if you’re not at the level and you don’t defend set pieces it’s going to be hard to win a game in the Premier League. That’s why it didn’t go our way this evening.”
On Philogene, he added: "A great start. A brace for him personally and his confidence will be growing and growing.”