Unai Emery expressed his thoughts on the 2-0 victory for Aston Villa against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
It is three wins in four in the Europa League for the Villans, who have been in brilliant form for most of the last six weeks. The attention turns to making a return to winning ways in the Premier League.
“I’m very happy because we have three more points in the table. After we lost in GoAhead Eagles*** in the last match we played in Europe, we were a little bit frustrated and we were understanding the difficulties we will face in this competition.*
“Here in Villa Park with our supporters it was important to feel strong and try to dominate the match overall, defensively, offensively and try to stop them, try not to concede a lot of chances.
“We conceded more than we planned: each match in this competition we can see matches with some surprises and see how other teams are performing in the table and how they want to be protagonists.
“We have to understand it’s very difficult. How we are getting nine points after four matches is fantastic, but we will prepare the next games, focusing and respecting the opposition, respecting the competition like we did today with Maccabi.”
*“After the break we had and before the next break, we are performing very well and achieving good results. Today was very important after a defeat in Europe. In the league, we lost the last match to Liverpool but in the balance getting the points against Tottenham and Man City.*
“I think we can feel comfortable and we can feel in good balance, and now Sunday. Sunday is the next challenge for how we are finishing this break in the table and with the objective for the season how we can close day 11 on Sunday. After this victory we’re going to focus the next match against Bournemouth – it will be very demanding. We’re resting, working, preparing the match on Sunday.”