Aston Villa boss remains optimistic about his team’s opportunity in the competition despite their loss in the Europa League semifinal.
Aston Villa’s narrow 1-0 defeat at the City Ground last night might sound like a setback, but it is not over yet. Unai Emery has called his team to stay faithful and feel optimistic in the reverse fixture at their home turf to bounce back. He shared his view during the press conference after the game, as reported by avfc.co.uk.
“We must be optimistic about the atmosphere we can create in Villa Park with our supporters and play a match enjoying it. Enjoy the moment we are in, the semi-final we have, and the opportunity we will have next week.
“Of course, if we are not winning the match, we are not deserving to be in the final. I am motivated, I am excited, and I am in good balance to play the second leg at home and try to keep our game plan.”
The game was tight and quite even as expected. Emery added how he saw the game last night, which was quite difficult.
“We are playing semi-finals, and semi-finals are very difficult. To arrive with this support is really fantastic, and then come the difficulties. To beat the teams in the semi-finals is difficult.
“Two years ago with Olympiacos, this year with Nottingham, and everything happened on the field in 90 minutes; I expected it.
“Of course, we could win, we could draw, we could lose, but it would be a tight match. And how we played – I think we played like we planned, and we could as well have chances to win the match.”
The Lions were fairly dominant in the game, especially considering the clear chances they created. They had at least four opportunities to score from Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Jadon Sancho. Sadly, none of them were able to find the back of the net.
Forest’s goalkeeper Stefan Ortega was in form by denying four shots. It was the same number of saves Emiliano Martinez made in the game. The Tricky Trees eventually only managed to break the deadlock from a penalty spot. Chris Wood successfully buried it into the top left side of the goal.
This proved how Villa need to improve their clinical finish, something they have lacked in the past few games. If this goes on, their dream of ending the title drought could be in jeopardy.
Aside from the difficult game, Emery also underlined how disappointing the VAR decision was. He believed that VAR might have made a mistake by not giving Eliot Anderson a red card in the first half in his attempt to tackle Ollie Watkins. The Spanish boss criticised the VAR as BBC reported.
“I watched the action of Anderson on Watkins, and the referee did a fantastic job. I was so, so feeling comfortable with how he managed the game in 90 minutes, but after watching it again, it is the VAR’s responsibility.
“It is a huge mistake – a huge mistake. Ollie Watkins was close to breaking his ankle. The VAR has a huge responsibility, and he must give us an explanation. It is crazy!”
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