Aston Villa

Aston Villa

Premier League • England

Unai Emery stoked by ‘angry’ Villa stars but cites what must now happen after Man Utd scalp

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Unai Emery refused to get carried away but praised the players and fans after watching Aston Villa beat Manchester United in his first game in charge.

The Villans parted company with Steven Gerrard on October 21 and wasted little time in getting Emery on board. The Spaniard has experience of managing in England although his short stint at Arsenal was less than inspiring. But his new charges gave him the perfect platform with a 3-1 triumph over the Red Devils at Villa Park.

Leon Bailey gave the hosts a superb start with the opener on seven minutes. And Lucas Digne made it 2-0 just four minutes later with a superb 25-yard free-kick.

A Jacob Ramsey own goal on the stroke of half-time gave the visitors a lifeline.

But the same player widened the margin to two goals once again when scoring at the right end four minutes after the interval.

Emery was understandably delighted after the match. But he made it clear that all at the club will be staying grounded after the crowd lifted the players to victory.

“The supporters were amazing supporting us and the players were great with the plan,” he told BBC Sport. “First step is take confidence, start with energy and the supporters supported with their response.

“We have the players with the good skills. The way we played the 90 minutes we can be optimistic but only first step and we have to work a lot to keep improving.”

Angry Villa take vital three points

Aston Villa moved up to 13th in the table with United’s scalp. They now have 15 points from 14 games played.

Goalscorer Ramsey admitted it had been a “tough couple of weeks” after Gerrard’s departure.

Emery confessed that he saw fire in his players’ eyes as they took to the pitch. And the former Villarreal chief now wants his men to replicate that feeling on their travels.

“The players were angry and feeling good with emotion and I think they did a very good job,” he added to Sky Sports.

“The players feel so good here at home and I want to use this result to tilt the balance when we play away.”

Emery thankful for Aston Villa chance

Emery was approached about taking over as Newcastle manager last year. He turned down the chance to stay with Villarreal.

However, the opportunity to manage Villa was too good to refuse.

The 51-year-old is happy to be at Villa Park. But he reiterated that fact nobody should start getting ahead of themselves.

“It’s a good challenge for me. I am so grateful to the owners and thankful with the supporters and, today, I felt they supported,” he continued.

“We are going to stay calm after this result because we are not in the position in the table that we want.”

Villa travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the EFL Cup on Thursday night. They will then face Brighton at the Amex in their final game before the World Cup break.

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