Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased with our 2-1 win over Legia Warszawa, particularly with our reaction in the second half to control the game more.
An early goal from Moussa Diaby appeared to set us on our way to the three points, as we needed to win by two goals to top Group E and advance to the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Legia Warszawa: Decisive duo impress in important win
While we secured qualification with this win, a point at Zrinjski in a fortnight will ensure we claim top spot and bypass the playoffs round, and so there is still work to do.
Nevertheless, after a sloppy mistake led to Legia’s equaliser in the first half, Villa were much-improved after the break as we played with more control and dictated tempo, with Álex Moreno scoring the winning goal on his return to the side after his lengthy injury layoff.
Emery was happy with the performance overall, and although we missed the opportunity to secure top spot, the most important outcome was the win to put ourselves in a strong position to do so.
“I’m very happy,” he told TNT Sports, as per the video below. “Our reaction was fantastic. We are not 100% first in the group but I think normally we are going to win. We are settling with the players in this competition. At Villa Park with the supporters, we are playing very good.
“They were very focussed, very motivated. It was very tight to qualify for the next round. They needed a draw or a win. For us, it was important to try to win. We were consistent in our game plan. The second half, our control was better than the first half. We controlled it better. They had one chance off the cross bar.
“In 90 minutes, we had to try control everything. Today we score one goal through it and it’s adding more qualities we can show.”
Emery was also asked about Moreno, after the Spaniard made his long-awaited comeback from injury on Thursday night, and capped off a top performance with the winning goal.
Given his impact in the second half of last season after his January arrival, it was a huge boost to have him back, and along with Jacob Ramsey down that left side, they will undoubtedly add a very important dynamic for us moving forward and additional competition for places.
“He’s very important,” he added. “He was injured and coming back. Jacob Ramsey too. Alex Moreno is wishing to play. He scored one goal and now we can have more players coming.”
"We must continue respecting this competition… it's one way to a trophy" 🏆
Unai Emery emphasises the importance of Aston Villa continuing a strong Conference League campaign in hope of another European accolade for the decorated Spaniard…@JeffBrazier | #UECL pic.twitter.com/5CKTJ8nFyD
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2023