Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was delighted with the second-half response from his players in our 2-1 win over Leeds United at Elland Road in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Villa fell behind after just eight minutes as Lukas Nmecha put the hosts in front, and they went on to impose themselves effectively throughout the first half and deserved their lead as they were undoubtedly the better side in the opening 45 minutes as we struggled with their aggression and intensity.
Fortunately, Emery was able to get a reaction from his players in the second half and in conjunction with smart changes, we were able to turn the game around and secure all three points.
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Donyell Malen made an instant impact as he produced an assist for Morgan Rogers who drew us level just three minutes after the restart, while it was Rogers who emerged as our match-winner in the 75th minute, converting a free-kick with a stunning strike from just outside the box.
Emery will know that we will need to be better than what we showed in the first half moving forward, but he was delighted with the response and win, and singled out his star playmaker for praise after his decisive role in sealing the win this weekend.
“He was performing fantastic, even when he wasn’t scoring,” Emery said, as per BBC Sport. “It has always been his task to focus on the gameplan we have. Always he’s playing well. Today it’s better to be scoring goals but to me he’s always the same. His season has been fantastic. He is getting progressively better like the team. And today, scoring goals, he was brilliant.
“Leeds United eh? First half we struggled, they deserved the first half. We weren’t dominating and competing like we did in the second half. Leeds were playing fantastic. Second half we changed some things. They tired in the second half and we dominated the ball more. We scored quick and that helped us a lot.
“It was key to equalise the match and then it continued. We had chances to get the second goal and we did. Then they had some chances. We are happy because this match was a challenge. I am so, so happy for the players.
“We are trying to set as high a standard as possible. My players were fantastic.
“Every team in the Premier League has great players and coaches. We must be consistent. We must be strong. Tactically it is very important and individually we have to show our quality.”
On Morgan Rogers: “He was playing fantastic. Today scoring his goal was brilliant. I try to get of him his qualities and make him feel comfortable in our structures. On the left, in the middle and as a striker. He is so, so competitive player. Always he accepts everything we are trying to do with him.”
Villa now switch our attention to Young Boys in the Europa League on Thursday night before hosting Wolves next Sunday, and so it was important to start on a positive note coming out of the international break as we try to build some momentum.
As noted above, both Emery and the players deserve credit for the way in which we were able to turn this game around and secure the win, and as frustrating as the first half was, the reaction and resilience to come away with the desired result deserves credit and shows another side to us as we go through what will be a gruelling period in the season.