Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was delighted with the performance in our 3-1 win over Burnley, and was particularly keen to praise the travelling supporters.
A brace from Matty Cash and a goal from Moussa Diaby secured all three points at Turf Moor, as Villa made it three consecutive wins in all competitions, having scored 12 goals and conceded just one.
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It’s been a superb response after our opening weekend defeat to Newcastle Utd, and this was an assured performance in a difficult game as we controlled the encounter for the most part, and allowed our superior quality to make the difference in the final third.
Emery was without Emiliano Martinez due to injury, while he made one other adjustment with Cash being deployed in a more advanced role on the right side in place of Leon Bailey, and the Polish international responded with two goals and a Player of the Match performance.
Unsurprisingly, the Villa boss was pleased with the display and result, and while he spoke of the positives, he will no doubt meticulously analyse the game and pinpoint where we still need to improve.
“Today the players were very aware about how we can again be competitive away,” he told the media, as per BirminghamLive. “We did it last year and it’s always more difficult at home. We were very focused, we were consistent, we were strong in our structure offensively and defensively. Each player had to use their qualities trying to do their best, and that’s how we got our good performance. Today, we did it.
“To control the game in the 90 minutes is always our objective. It’s difficult to do as we want because the other team is playing and they are pushing. They are losing and at home, the fans supported them to do something, and when they scored the goal it was a difficult moment, but we reacted well and we finished the match strong. Sometimes, defensively we were low but also feeling good when we had to defend.”
As noted above, Emery was particularly keen to praise the supporters that made the trip to Turf Moor, as he praised their backing while also reiterating that the players were excellent in implementing the gameplan set out for them.
Villa will face Hibernian on Thursday night in the second leg of our Europa Conference League play-off tie before travelling to Liverpool on Sunday, and so it’s hoped that we can continue this momentum up until the international break.
The Spanish tactician though was a voice of reason as usual after the game, as he was keen to stress the balance between being excited by the win, but aware that further difficult assignments lie ahead.
“I’m very happy,” he told VillaTV. “Our supporters, they were with us as well, they came from Birmingham to watch the game, to support us and we’re really very happy. We are feeling stronger with them.
“Those three points were very important in our idea to progress in the Premier League.
“This was a very big challenge for us, we were speaking about it, and we tried to play tactically, defensively and offensively, strong. The players did the gameplan perfectly.
“Of course, we are sharing those three points with our supporters and trying for everybody to be excited – but with a balance because we are still taking three points, but at the end it is going to be difficult and next week against Liverpool.
“But we have to enjoy each moment and, this one, we enjoy it, it’s very good because the supporters as well, they were with us.”
