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Aston Villa emerged victorious in a tightly contested match, with Youri Tielemans scoring the only goal in the 12th minute by heading in a corner from John McGinn. Despite the win, manager Unai Emery was not entirely pleased with his team’s performance, emphasizing the need for sustained focus and adherence to the game plan.
Unai Emery said: “We started very well and we dominated the first 15 minutes. After it, I felt some [players were] relaxed. I was getting our players to play seriously and respect them, focusing on the game plan we planned before. In the dressing room we spoke about it. We didn’t concede a lot, but we created chances. We did what we planned and spoke about in the second half.”
Emery added: “We finished the first half because we started very well, we dominated and scored a goal, but we stopped a little bit. We started to play a bit more back passes. Doing back passes for one objective, to try to stop them and then progress [is fine], but we weren’t progressing like we needed and how we planned before. Even not doing it, we were losing some easy balls. But if someone is relaxing a little bit, we are closer to losing. We should be very demanding every day and in our focus with the game plan to be consistent, expecting them and playing, always being so, so demanding in our process in 90 minutes. We want to be consistent in the Premier League for 38 matches. But we have to be very consistent for 90 minutes each match.”
“When we lost some balls in the first half, in the dressing room I told them, ‘I can’t accept!’,” Emery said.
Despite the victory, Emery’s comments highlight his concern about the team’s tendency to lose focus during matches. The manager stressed the importance of maintaining intensity and discipline throughout the entire game to achieve consistency in the Premier League. Villa’s win was nearly jeopardized by missed opportunities, including Ollie Watkins’ missed chances and Donyell Malen hitting the bar in added time. Emery’s focus on consistency and discipline is crucial for Villa as they aim to secure a strong position in the league.
