Villa host Lille in a Europa League last-16 second leg tie on Thursday and though Emery has seen his team’s form dip dramatically over the past two months, the boss reminded supporters such a fixture would have been unthinkable when he replaced Steven Gerrard in November, 2022.
Victory over the French club would send Villa into a European quarter-final for the third straight season and Emery said: “We are playing the second leg of the last 16 of the Europa League.
“When we arrived here three-and-a-half years ago, it was a dream - a dream.
“In that moment, it was so difficult to think about, or to set it as something to achieve in the time we have done it in, so quick.