Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has delivered his verdict on our 1-0 win over Fulham, and where that leaves us in terms of our European ambitions.
Tyrone Mings’ first-half goal was all that ultimately split the two sides, as although we dominated for large periods and looked in full control, we struggled to break through a stubborn Fulham side.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Fulham: Mings secures win in solid defensive display
However, the visitors offered very little in the way of an attacking threat of their own, and so although it wasn’t a particularly convincing or inspiring performance, it was enough from Villa to secure all three points and make it 10 unbeaten in the Premier League.
Further, that’s now five consecutive clean sheets and wins at home, and so naturally there were elements that pleased Emery, albeit he did concede that we were tired in the second half and so it’s hoped that we can rest and recover well this week ahead of our trip to Old Trafford to face Man Utd on Sunday.
“Very happy. We are trying to be consistent with each match, winning and keeping the clean sheets. Today it was very important to get a Europa position more clear,” he said after the game, as per BBC Sport. “In the first half, we had good positioning and were trying to stop the transitions and we had two or three good chances to score. The second half was different. They pressed high and we were a little tired after the match we played on Saturday.
“We are in the top 10. We are in the Europa position. It is still difficult to achieve but after this win we are just ahead of trying to keep being with the option to get there.
“There’s still Liverpool and Tottenham and Brighton and we are going to fight with them but with each match we are winning, it is giving us confidence and chance to get there.
“In the first half we played very well. We controlled the game like we wanted to do.
“The second half changed because of course we tried to keep in control possession of the game but it became difficult because they tried to push more.”
With the other sides having games in hand, the Premier League table is distorted currently as although we’ve done brilliantly to move up to fifth place, a lot could change in the coming weeks.
Not necessarily in a negative way either, given we still have to face many of the sides around us, and while we didn’t play particularly well against Fulham, it was hopefully a controlled performance that allowed the players to keep something in reserve after a really difficult game at Brentford last weekend.
We’ll have to raise our performance level against Man Utd though, and while we’ve done brilliantly to put ourselves in this current position, there are five more finals to go and the assignments will get tougher as we continue to target a long-awaited return to Europe.
Every win won’t be a Newcastle-esque performance, and so it’s good to see one of our defenders score from a set-piece finally to add a different dynamic, and more so seeing us hold out strongly defensively to pick up the win and keep our momentum going.
