Aston Villa boss Unai Emery shared his thoughts on our 3-3 draw with Newcastle Utd in Philadelphia on Sunday, and was largely happy with the performance.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Buendia (x2) twice gave us the lead in our first pre-season outing as part of the Premier League Summer Series, but Eddie Howe’s side found a way back to secure a draw.
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Nevertheless, there were a number of positives to take away from the game both individually and collectively, as there were plenty of promising signs in the performance to suggest that we’re moving in the right direction in terms of being ready for our Premier League season opener next month.
While the Walsall friendly was played at a slower pace and appeared to be one to go through the motions in, Villa played at a much better tempo and with intensity in this one, and that’s natural given the quality of the opposition and the fact that we play them again in just a few weeks time.
“Firstly, I’m thankful for our supporters, sharing with us here our tournament in the United States,” Emery told VillaTV. “Tonight, the atmosphere was amazing and we did our work.
“Everything we were practicing here, I think we did on the pitch in 90 minutes and we shared playing with experienced players and young players. I think we got the performance we were trying to get and I’m happy, really happy.
“The result is secondary for us. But to score three goals, of course, is one thing we are going to analyse, why. But I am happy.”
Attention quickly switches to our next game now though given the short turnaround between matches, as we face Fulham in Orlando on Wednesday night.
Rotation is expected from the Villa boss to share minutes out and get everyone fully fit, as he revealed that he hopes to add new signing Moussa Diaby to the squad and get him involved as he looks set to begin training with the squad on Monday.
Emery added that Leon Bailey will join up with the group on Thursday after he was busy on international duty much later than others, while it remains to be seen if Philippe Coutinho is fit enough to feature after sitting this one out.
Separately, it was also confirmed that Morgan Sanson is edging closer to an exit, while Leander Dendoncker is still in Birmingham after becoming a father last week, and so time will tell if he joins up with his teammates or not in the coming days.
“Now, we are going to prepare quickly for the match on Wednesday,” he added. “Recover the players who played tonight, then try to add Philippe Coutinho and Moussa Diaby.
“Leon Bailey is coming back and meeting with us on Thursday. We are going to continue in our way, our work and the plan we are doing, and adding some different players as well.
“And, of course, being competitive. Firstly, each one with us, and then playing against the teams like tonight – Newcastle, Fulham the same very high level, Brentford on Sunday. Very good.”