Analysis: European return closes a brilliant first chapter for Unai Emery at Aston Villa
Fantastic though the finish to this most remarkable of seasons might have been, the hope from everyone at Villa is this was only the beginning.
Not least Unai Emery.
“This is the first step,” the Villa head coach announced to a delighted crowd no more than 15 minutes after his team had secured the club’s return to European competition after a 13-year absence, courtesy of an action-packed, occasionally nerve-shredding final day win over Brighton.
Football moves so fast these days, there is rarely time to sit and take stock. Emery might have pulled off one of the most incredible turnarounds in Premier League history by taking Villa from the bottom five to European Conference League but this week he will sit down with sporting director Johan Lange and the club’s owners to finalise plans for the summer transfer window.
There are several key decisions to make, the first of which will be the future of Ashley Young, who moments before the head coach had taken the microphone expressed his desire to remain at the club into his 39th year. After that, comes the task of recruiting players who can improve on those already here and provide the strength in depth required for a season which will be fought on four fronts, including the continent. In a league which punishes those who fail to move forward, Villa need a good summer.
Yet if ever there was a moment for Emery to savour, it came in those minutes yesterday when a packed-out stadium saluted the achievement of him and his players.
The Spaniard rarely hangs around and his swift march down the touchline at the final whistle has been a guaranteed sight, right from when his reign opened with a 3-1 home win over Manchester United.
Yesterday, he allowed himself the time to soak it in, embracing his coaching staff and even being lifted in the air at one point by personal assistant Damia Vidagany, before partaking in a lap of honour with co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. For the latter pair, he has proved quite the appointment, another big decision got right in the remarkable five years since they first arrived when the club sat in the Championship on the brink of administration.
The post-match celebrations marked a happy climax to an afternoon which at various points threatened to end in heartbreak. Villa’s first half performance against Brighton was among their most frantic yet under Emery.
Excellent in attack, they were unusually shaky at the back and from a position where they looked in control after Ollie Watkins had added to Douglas Luiz’s opener, it needed a sharp save from Emi Martinez to prevent Dennis Undav netting for a second time in quick succession and putting the visitors back on level terms heading into the break. Emery’s men were also the beneficiaries of a wafer-thin offside call which saw Julio Enciso’s goal ruled out, while Evan Ferguson twice went clean through only to fluff his lines.
The second half followed a far more familiar pattern. Alexis Mac Allister might have come close to a leveller with a shot which bounced just wide of the post but for the most part Villa were in control and though the goal which would have killed any remaining nerves never arrived, neither did you ever really suspect the hosts would slip up.
Under Emery, Villa are a team who consistently rise to the big occasion and supporters who for so long became accustomed to players wilting under pressure now marvel at their resilience. Of Villa’s 15 Premier League wins since Emery took charge, eight have come by a one-goal margin including the final three. They have not conceded more than once in a match since the 4-2 home defeat to Arsenal on February 18.
While supporters would have wanted another goal to seal the nerves, there was something rather fitting about Watkins ultimately getting the one which sealed their European return. Of his 15 league goals – a new personal best in the top flight – this was by far the easiest finish, slotting into an empty net after Jacob Ramsey had beaten visiting goalkeeper Jason Steele to Leon Bailey’s through ball and squared for the striker.
Ramsey had also earlier teed up Luiz for the opener, the midfielder finishing the week in which he was crowned both players’ and supporters’ player of the season in perfect fashion.
By then Bailey, who produced his best performance for months when it mattered most, had already seen a shot deflected onto the bar. Villa looked dangerous every time they went forward but even at 2-0 up not completely secure and it needed, not for the first time, Emery’s half-time adjustments to see things out in calmer fashion.
Next season will bring new challenges, the foremost of which will be dealing with regular midweek matches, presuming Villa advance through the play-off round of the Europa Conference League and into the group stages.
But Emery, who believes he does his best coaching during matches, will relish that and the sight of West Ham in the final of this year’s competition further highlights the opportunity now ahead.
So far, the head coach has proven superb with the players he inherited. Adding more into the mix, as the club now must, can bring its own difficulties. But so far, so very brilliant.
