Aston Villa missed the opportunity to strengthen their grip on Champions League qualification after losing 1-0 to Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Sessegnon scored the only goal of the game at Craven Cottage, striking in the 43rd minute after Emi Martinez saved Sasa Lukic's initial header.
Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins both came close to scoring in the first half, with the latter and Tammy Abraham then missing opportunities after the break.
A huge fortnight ahead
Don't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. Losing to Fulham was a chance missed, but it's up to Villa to make sure it's nothing more than that.
Two legs against Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi-finals, along with winnable matches against Tottenham and Burnley, will go some way to defining the outcome of the season.
Villa had won each of their previous six matches against the Cottagers, so would have headed to the capital with confidence, but they played without the energy you'd expect considering the opportunity on the table.
That said, had either Rogers or Watkins found the back of the net, you'd have backed Villa to take a positive result back to Birmingham.
Under Emery, Villa get results, and over the course of the season they'll take enough wins on the road to supplement strong home form. The bulk of those victories come through being effective in key moments.
It's why Emery said in his press conference that he was content with his side's showing but 'angry' at the result, believing his team deserved more.
Before the match, Emery revealed that he had told his squad that finishing third is his aim, not just qualifying for the Champions League, and he appeared satisfied with their response - if not the result.
Forest semi-final looms
Attention turned to Thursday night shortly after defeat, but was it already in the minds of Villa's players on Saturday?
Even subconsciously, it's difficult to ignore the magnitude of a semi-final on the horizon, and Emery suggested it may have influenced his thinking as the game wore on.
There wasn't a Villa player on the pitch performing at their best level, though Youri Tielemans and John McGinn were still creating chances behind Rogers and Watkins.
Despite Villa losing, McGinn created five chances in total - the most he's ever recorded in a Premier League match, on what was his 230th appearance in the competition.
Yet with 15 minutes to play, Emery decided to take both players off, with Emi Buendia and Lamare Bogarde too.
Explaining that decision post-match, Emery said: 'We were losing 1-0 and we needed fresh legs and something different. The Premier League is very difficult to win matches, and away even more so.'
'This is Fulham. Is it easy to beat Fulham here? No. We did beat them two times, but the matches we played were like today. We weren't clinical today.'
On TNT Sports, he added: 'We needed fresh legs; they're tired. The players tried to keep the same game plan we had at the beginning.'
Wilson hears Villa chants
Harry Wilson has been in fine form this season, and he's known to have admirers at Villa ahead of the summer.
The winger will be out of contract at Fulham this summer, and a number of clubs are keeping tabs on his situation.
He had a couple of chances to show Emery what he can do, but a free-kick struck the wall and an effort at the start of the second half was dragged wide.
Early in the first half, with Wilson near the travelling Villa fans, he would have heard chants being sung in his direction.
'He wants to sign for a big club,' one went, with Villa fans also heard singing: 'Harry Wilson, he's claret and blue.'
Champions League race
Still, just one more win for Villa will likely be enough to secure a top five finish.
If Brighton fail to win each of their four remaining matches, they can reach a maximum of 60 points - one fewer than the 61 Villa would have if they win one and lose three.
Brentford head to Manchester United on Monday night, and a win there would move them to within seven points of Villa.
However, if they fail to beat United, the Bees will find themselves behind Brighton heading into next weekend's fixtures.
