Aston Villa boss Unai Emery conceded that we started poorly in our 2-1 win over Chelsea, but was pleased with our improvement in the second half.
It was a flat and passive display from Villa in the opening 15 minutes or so, and Chelsea took advantage as they dominated the early stages and took the lead through Enzo Fernandez after just nine minutes.
READ MORE: Influential Villa figure closing in on return from injury to provide crucial boost
Although we improved as the first half went on and began to build pressure and create chances, we found ourselves behind at the break and in need of some inspiration to turn things around.
The introduction of Marcus Rashford proved to be critical, while Marco Asensio was decisive in helping us secure all three points in what could potentially prove to be a pivotal win in the battle for a top-five finish.
Emery was clearly far from pleased with what he saw in the early part of the encounter, but he was full of praise for our response after the interval and particularly for Rashford, who made a crucial difference and helped us create and pose a more serious threat to Chelsea in the second half.
“Of course if we had lost we would be worse [in the table],” he said after the game, as per BBC Sport. “Today we started very bad and conceded a goal, second in the duels, were late and slow on the press, not getting the players on the field as we planned.
“Then we progressively got better. Better in the duels, better in the second half overall. In the dressing room before we spoke about being ready for 90 minutes, how we wanted it to go, we wanted the sub players to be ready.
“The last two games we had chances at the end of the match and did not score. Today we had chances at the end and we scored.”
On Marcus Rashford: “[We want to] Support him. Help him. Try to help him to feel comfortable here. Try to help him get confidence with us. Try to use the skill in our tactical idea, try to be demanding with him. He is in this process.
“Of course he played a fantastic 45 minutes. We now want to be consistent. Hopefully he is going to be important, like today, but then more and more and more. The most important for him is to try to be here with us and be confident and comfortable in a good atmosphere and this is my objective.”
“Getting this victory today is very important.
“This was the objective when we signed those players in the window – trying to improve our squad with the quality and skill these players have and how they can adapt with us quick.
“I think today and in the last matches as well, they are getting to the level we want. They have the experiences at the highest level. Be it Marcus [Rashford], Donyell [Malen] who played in the Champions League final and [Marco] Asensio. Lamare Bogarde was very good today and Andres Garcia also played 20 minute and was feeling very comfortable.”
On Asensio:Â “He is a number 10. He can get the tempo we need. He can get assists and also score goals as he did today. I need that.”
There’s no denying just how important our January signings have been already, particularly both Rashford and Asensio, who have added crucial fresh dynamics to our attacking play.
It’s hoped that this is merely the start from the pair as they continue to settle, adapt and thrive under Emery, and coupled with key players returning from injury, we’re hopefully building momentum at just the right time for a major run-in to finish the campaign.
Albeit it wasn’t entirely convincing, this was a huge win for our season at a critical point in it, and after our battling draw with Liverpool in midweek, we’ve certainly started to build momentum and confidence again, and hopefully that can be carried through to next week when we face Crystal Palace and Cardiff City in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively.
