Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was delighted with his side’s effort in securing a 1-0 win over Everton on Wednesday night.
A second-half strike from Ollie Watkins was all that ultimately split the two teams, but Villa were impressive for the most part as we imposed ourselves, had a sense of control for large periods and eventually found the quality needed to produce a breakthrough.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Everton: Watkins decisive, influential figure class above
It could, and should, have been more comfortable as we were wasteful in the first half, but Emery was pleased with the way his players competed across the 90 minutes, and he was particularly delighted with the fact that that’s now three consecutive wins across all competitions.
As expected given it was the first game back in charge for David Moyes, it was a difficult challenge and turned into a scrappy encounter as we had to dig in and grind out the win in the latter stages, but it was a much-needed clean sheet and three crucial points to continue building momentum in the second half of the campaign.
“Very happy,” he said after the game, as quoted by BBC Sport. “A tough match. We played 90 minutes and competed very well. We had some clear chances in the first half and we tried to push and take even more control in the second but we couldn’t, but we scored.
“This victory is very important. We have started the year winning at home, in the Premier League and in the FA Cup. Away, we were in a bad spell and had to break it. To get three points is very difficult and we’re very happy.”
Two players in particular received praise from the Villa boss for their impact and influence in the win, as Emery hailed Watkins and Boubacar Kamara.
While the former ultimately emerged as the match winner and worked tirelessly for the team in leading the line, Kamara was exceptional in both phases of the game, both in and out of possession.
The Frenchman not only showed composure and technical class on the ball, but his positional awareness is second to none, and combined with the versatility to switch to different roles and areas of the pitch just added another brilliant dynamic to his display.
In turn, it was unsurprising that the pair were singled out after the win, as they were decisive in the outcome.
“He [Watkins] always responds on the field, sometimes not with goals but always with his work,” Emery added. “Today he did it. He had a good chance in the first half but he kept going. He then scored a fantastic goal.
“Fantastic match. Fantastic. He [Kamara] is getting progressively better after a long time injured. His work and his capacity is increasing. It is fantastic. He showed that again today. For us he is a very important player.”
