Aston Villa manager Unai Emery celebrated a “really fantastic” Friday night as his side secured Champions League football with an emphatic 4-2 win over Liverpool at Villa Park.
Goals from Morgan Rogers and John McGinn, either side of an Ollie Watkins double, ensured the Villains defeated the Reds for the first time under Emery’s tenure, leapfrogging their opposition into fourth place and securing a top-five finish with a game to spare.
Talking to Sky Sports after the game, Emery said: “The match was very important for us because the priority was the Premier League.”
“We faced Liverpool and tested ourselves. It was a tough match in the first half but second half we did fantastic. I am very grateful to the supporters. We’re in the Champions League, this is something amazing.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Spaniard heaped praise on his players, who travel to Istanbul on Wednesday to face Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League Final with the chance to claim Villa’s first piece of European silverware since 1982.
“Now we have a Champions League position, we are going to play the final only thinking for the trophy,” said Emery.
“To play a final is very difficult but we are going to be ready 100%, and we are going to enjoy it.
“To compete in both competitions and being consistent is not easy. We had a fantastic season. I am so proud,” said Emery.
Embed from Getty ImagesWatkins’ brace staked a claim for a spot in England’s World Cup squad, taking his Premier League tally to 14 this season. Nine of those goals have come since he was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s last England squad in March.
Speaking about his trials and tribulations, Watkins said: “I had a really slow start to the season, being left out of the England squad, I think it gave me that fire in my belly to come back and prove what I can do.”
“A lot of people had written me off this season, but I use that as motivation to show them that I can be back to my best, scoring and helping the team. I think I’ve shown that the last few games.”
Embed from Getty ImagesMeanwhile, for Liverpool and Arne Slot, it was another damaging defeat.
Two goals from captain Virgil van Dijk did little to paper over the cracks of a leaky defence that has now conceded 52 goals this season – the highest total ever by a Liverpool side in a 38-game Premier League campaign.
Speaking on the result, Slot said: “After 2-1 we crumbled and struggled. We’ve definitely conceded far too many goals, but we also haven’t scored enough goals.”
“When we are the better team, we struggle to find a goal, mainly because we are not able to create big enough chances when we are the better team. Then, when we have a period of time when we are struggling, we tend to concede too easy.”
After the triumphs of last season, a year on, the reigning champions will now need to beat Brentford in their final game to confirm a Champions League position.
All quotes sourced from Sky Sports