Aston Villa boss Unai Emery praised the supporters and his players after our 2-1 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup on Saturday evening.
Villa broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute as Emiliano Buendia finished off a brilliant team move with a clinical strike inside the box, while Morgan Rogers doubled our lead just before the half-time interval after another impressive move carved Spurs open.
The hosts did respond in the second half and mounted a comeback, but Villa dug deep and saw out the win to ensure that we advance to the fourth round of the competition.
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Unsurprisingly, Emery was delighted with the result and praised his players for their performance to get the win, while picking out goalscorers Buendia and Rogers for praise, as the pair were both decisive and influential in our ability to get the desired outcome.
The Villa boss was also asked about Boubacar Kamara after he suffered an injury just minutes into the encounter, but further tests on Sunday will now reveal the extent of the issue.
“The first 45 minutes, we controlled the game like we planned,” he said, as per BBC Sport. “We created chances and we scored two goals and we dominated and we defended very well as well. The second half, Spurs started pushing more, they scored a goal. Progressively in the second half, we were feeling better on the field. Again, good positioning and dominating with the ball. Not creating big chances but getting the control of the game like we planned and how we did in the first half.
“Of course, in 90 minutes overall, I think we deserved to get this win and of course how the players responded on the field, showed the mentality we’re building is really fantastic.”
On his midfield: “Fantastic. Both players fantastic, and today played 90 minutes. Of course, the qualities and the skills of Buendia are really helping us a lot. And today, playing 90 minutes, with his versatile position, playing in a left side and inside as a 10, we did both during the match. In each position he’s performing very well and his commitment to help and get his task and focus, overall, like we are doing in the team, is really fantastic.
“Especially today, the performance of Morgan and Buendia was really fantastic, and each one can feel comfortable playing with their qualities.”
On making six changes: “Yes, we need players. We’re in the Premier League, the Europa League, and this competition we are respecting a lot. Because last year we played the semi-final. There are thousands of supporters here with us giving us responsibility and we are showing as well our wish to get… The FA Cup is way for a trophy, a way for Europe as well. Secondly, how we are managing the squad, different players, different moments, some players injured, some players coming back from injury like today Pau Torres, and we need players for the next matches, the next competition, Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup.”
On Kamara issue: “I don’t have an update. Tomorrow, we check him and hopefully it’s not something important.”
Villa will now have a chance to reset and regroup before facing Everton in the Premier League, but it will be fascinating to see how well we can manage and balance our ambitions across three competitions in the coming months.
Adding reinforcements this month could be critical, but perhaps more important is not only recovering those who are currently out with injury, but ensuring that we can rest and rotate when possible to avoid further setbacks.
The quality and resilience in this squad is unquestionable, and it’s hoped that we can continue to push for success this season despite the adversity that we’re facing, and that starts with getting back to winning ways in the league against Everton next weekend.
