Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was delighted with how his side competed in our 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Jhon Duran once again came off the bench to score our winning goal, but the entire Villa team put in a magnificent shift defensively to shut Bayern out, and put ourselves in a position to go on and ultimately win the game.
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It was a much-needed clean sheet, with Emiliano Martinez producing a string of crucial saves to protect it, but the backline was excellent and the work-rate through the entire side was where it needed to be in order to get a positive result.
While Emery praised his players for their commitment and determination, he made it clear too though that while we can enjoy the result, the objective is to ensure this is a consistent stay at Europe’s top table, and beating the likes of Bayern will only strengthen our belief in that process.
“We want to be consistent to play in Europe [regularly]. We have to try to play each match. We compete very well, we won. Maybe we can get the first eight positions.” he told TNT Sports, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“It’s very important defensively to be strong. Emiliano Martinez did an amazing job, Diego Carlos and [Ezri] Konsa were fantastic and others. Both players they needed to improve playing together on the right side of the defence.”
Duran was naturally a main talking point after the game having come off the bench to score the winning goal once again, with the 20-year-old producing a delightful finish from a brilliant Pau Torres pass to break the deadlock.
Emery and his coaching staff will undoubtedly have had a major impact on the Colombian international’s ability to become such a key figure in the squad and to put all his distractions and antics from the summer behind him, but the Villa boss was also keen to praise the player himself for the difference in his personality that he’s showing this season.
Martinez made a similar comment after the game when asked about his teammate’s decisive contribution so far this season, and so it’s great to hear that Duran has turned a corner, and he continues to bang on the door for a starting berth to give us another important attacking dynamic either instead of, or alongside, Ollie Watkins.
On Jhon Duran: “We are working with him,” he added. “Most important is his attitude and commitment now with us. He changed a lot in his mind. He’s available to play 90, 60, 30 minutes. He’s been focusing each minute he’s playing. Today we had two very good strikers. It’s fantastic for him and the team.”
Villa did unfortunately pick up some fresh injury concerns during the win, and so we’ll see what the team news is ahead of our clash with Manchester United on Sunday and whether or not Emery is forced into any changes ahead of the international break.
“I’m very happy for our supporters and everyone at Aston Villa – coaches, owners, supporters, workers – to share days like today, playing at this level in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and winning,” he told VillaTV. “The most important thing is how we competed and how we prepared the game plan, how we were transmitting our energy to the supporters and their energy to us.
“We tried to create a great atmosphere here in Villa Park and it was a moment I want to live and I can enjoy it when I have a day like today.
“We have six points and it’s very important. We still have six matches and 18 points to play for.
“We have to try to prepare the next match against Bologna here at home and keep going, increasing our level, our demands and our improvements with the team.
“We have to focus on preparing the match on Sunday, a huge match here at Villa Park. We have to perform consistently.”
