Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased with his side’s ability to eventually start to control the game in our 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.
It was a slow start from Villa as we struggled to gain control in the early stages, with Emiliano Martinez producing a superb save as Wolves had a golden opportunity early on to take the lead.
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After Moussa Diaby broke the deadlock and gave us a vital advantage in the 36th minute, we eventually started to get a foothold and impose ourselves before Ezri Konsa doubled our lead in the second-half to seal the victory.
Unsurprisingly, Emery noted that we weren’t good enough to start the encounter as we were indeed second best, but he was keen to praise his players for the adjustment we made to nullify the threat posed by Wolves, and to start to assert ourselves more efficiently.
Particular after our second goal, things were pretty comfortable for Villa on our way to the three points, and it was a significant boost to have registered a clean sheet as well in order to rebuild consistency in that area of our game.
“Yes, we did really well,” he told Sky Sports, as reported by BBC Sport. “The first 20 minutes we started a bit soft in everything. Even when we scored [the offside goal] we then conceded some big chances.
“Then we controlled it better. In the first half we were suffering a bit with Nelson Semedo and Pablo Sarabia. We tried to reduce that better in the second half. We were disciplined and had control of the game more or less, even when they dominated a little bit, we were defensively focused to do well.
“We were speaking before the match about the injuries we had and we needed to try to work with every player in the season.
“I want more of course. To score a goal in different ways is very important. But overall I am happy because we were very organised in the 90 minutes and we did well to create our chances to score. We are happy for Ezri Konsa but we have to try to think about how to get better options for every player to score goals.
“The challenge we have is to go to Manchester City [next]. We have to try to prepare the best possible way with the players we have. We have to try to do our best and keep going to be consistent. We are happy with the three points today and it is very important so we need to enjoy that as well.”
Emery went on to discuss Konsa’s ongoing progression and development, as the Villa defender capped off a brilliant week with our second goal to build on his exploits for England over the international break.
The 26-year-old will be asked to continue to do a job for the team by playing at right-back next week, and Emery believes that the experience he’s gaining through playing in Europe and at international level will continue to benefit him and give him the chance to further improve.
He has firmly established himself as a pivotal figure for us in our backline, and although there is a preference to see him feature as a centre-half in his more natural position, he continues to excel and help the team in our push to achieve our main objectives this season.
“He’s playing now with the national team and for the first time in Europe,” he added. “These are very good experiences he is taking. I think he has been more consistent and more demanding of himself.
“We have to push him because he has qualities that are more what he is showing. We have to continue to work with him defensively and on his positioning. And playing as the third man as a centre-back.
“He scored one goal today which was fantastic as well for him and the team so we need to carry on his process as a player.”