Aston Villa boss Unai Emery responded to earning his 100th win since taking over in November 2022
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery(Image: Getty Images)
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Unai Emery earned his 100th win as Aston Villa manager in Lille on Thursday night, but it’s not an occasion he plans to celebrate.
In fact, Emery turned his attention to Sunday’s important Premier League clash against fellow Champions League contenders Manchester United shortly after the full-time whistle.
A narrow 1-0 victory in Lille puts Villa in the driving seat to qualify for the Europa League quarter-finals, but after winning only one of their last seven home games, nothing can be taken for granted.
“Respect. This is my strong word with the players. Respect for the Europa League and for the teams who are competing in this competition,” Emery opened in his post-match press conference.
“It was an equal match, but playing organised and playing dominating the ball to create chances, I think we did it.
“The players responded to the message in the dressing room about the difficulties. We spoke about the difficulties for English teams in Europe yesterday.
“When we needed to feel strong in our structure, medium block or low block, we did it. It is 1-0, 90 minutes. The last round they lost 1-0 against Red Star and then came back. We are going to try to play the second leg with the game plan and continue the work we did today.”
Asked about winning his 100th match at Villa, Emery said: “It is done. Everything I did is done. Now I want to do Sunday, play against Man United. I want to be demanding.
“I want to continue being demanding in my analysis - how I can improve the team and myself. I make mistakes in the process. Each mistake is to learn, for me and the players.
“We are motivated for this competition. Today 2,500 supporters are here. It is fantastic. We must be very demanding because it is very difficult to get it. One team wins. The process in the Europa League is difficult.
“Until now we have played well in this competition, but we must be consistent in each match and moment. We are sharing this competition as one of our priorities with the Premier League.
“We are in a key moment, in March. It is a key moment. Manchester United is on Sunday and the players must focus on the moment we are in.”
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