Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was full of praise for his players and the fans after we secured a 3-1 win over Bournemouth at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
Goals from Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey turned things around after a Dominic Solanke penalty had given the visitors the lead, and it’s a win that moves us six points clear in fourth place in the Premier League table, albeit Tottenham have two games in hand.
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After the effort put in by the players in midweek as we eventually overcame Lille on penalties to advance to the Europa Conference League semi-finals, there was concern about how we’d fare against the energy and pressing of Bournemouth.
While we did struggle at times, it was another highly impressive display as we not only kept them at bay for the most part, but we showed quality in our attacking play along with resilience to respond to going behind, and it’s another vital result in what is going to be a crunch final stretch of the season.
With the club and players calling on the supporters to get behind them, the Villa faithful duly responded prior to kick-off and during the game, and it was a vital aspect to getting another big result as Emery praised the backing that they received.
“It’s been a fantastic week,” he told VillaTV. “We started today with our supporters waiting for us in the stadium when we were arriving. They created a great atmosphere and it was necessary as well because we had to be motivated and we had to be together.
“We had motivation to play thinking of them and trying to transmit our energy, our style and our skill with the players. It was a fantastic match – difficult but fantastic.
“We played well, serious, and we were controlling the game more than them. We made the difference with our players.
“It’s been a big effort and a really, really good week.
“Now we have to try to get other challenges and fourth in the table, fighting against Tottenham. It will be very difficult but we have to try to get this challenge.
“We have to do it in our way from now until the end of the season. We are very motivated to get something as well in Europe and we are in the semi-final. For the end of the season, we are very motivated.”
Fortunately, Villa now have a break until we play next as we host Chelsea next Saturday night, and that time to regroup and recharge will be crucial after such a big week both physically and emotionally.
It was a hugely impressive display on Sunday considering the context, and while there’s still work to be done on both fronts, it’s been another memorable week for all the right reasons, and it continues to keep our hopes alive of securing both a top-four finish and silverware in Europe.
For now though, the focus will be on Chelsea, and it’s hoped that the squad has come through without any fresh knocks, while Emery will hope to get others back too to give us the best possible chance of competing across both fronts as we look to pick up another critical result at home.