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OFFICIAL PREVIEW: UNAI EMERY ANALYZES ASTON VILLA’S TACTICAL EVOLUTION BEFORE THE UNITED SHOWDOWN
Aston Villa seeks revenge 210 days after a controversial loss to Man Utd cost them Champions League glory. Title Dreams are real!
Aston Villa is out for payback against Manchester United this weekend. Unai Emery's team wants to stay close to Arsenal and Manchester City in the chase for the title.
It's been 210 days since that controversial loss at United on the last day of the 2024/25 season. That defeat cost Villa a spot in the Champions League. Now, they're facing Man U again, but this time there's more than just a place in Europe at stake.
Villa is close to City and Arsenal in the title race. Getting things right against United is a chance to make their title dreams more real.
Yes, of course, Emery told Sky Sports when asked if last season's ending adds extra fire to Sunday's game at Villa Park.
Manchester United is very tough. We're really up for keeping our form against them. Since I got here three years ago, we've been going head-to-head, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always close.
Right now, we're even ahead of them, with a bit of an advantage. But Sunday is huge for us and those three points. This is a great chance, and we're pumped.
'Need to be realistic to believe we can win the title'
Emery hasn't wanted to talk about the title much, always saying the focus is on the next game.
Right now, Opta puts their chances of winning the league for the first time since 1981 at only 5.8%. But just the fact that people are talking about it shows how far they've come since Emery arrived back in October 2022.
Back then, it looked more likely they'd fall back into the Championship than win anything.
A tough Christmas is coming up—Chelsea and Arsenal away after United. But when Emery was asked about the title race, he just smiled and didn't say much.
Of course, I'd like us to be seen as title favourites, but we're not, Emery said.
We're playing really well, we're competing hard, and we're third right now. That's where we are.
But to think we're favourites, to really believe we can win the league, we need to stay consistent, keep pushing ourselves, and stay grounded.
They've won 10 of their last 11 Premier League games, but can they keep it up?
Emery is choosing to focus on getting better, using their recent wins as something to build on.
We're working every day to find ways to win. First, we need to be strong on defence, he said.
Second, we need to improve our attack as a team, be smart with our tactics, and make each player feel good playing to their strengths in their best position.
And then, we need to score in different ways. Set pieces are really important, and we're working on them a lot. My priority is how we can improve every day and in every game.
Even when we win, there's still a lot to improve.
Emery hints at January signings.
Villa isn't just looking at the Premier League. Last season, Emery got them to the Champions League quarter-finals and an FA Cup semi-final, and they fought for a top-five spot until the very end.
Villa is in a good spot to do the same this season.
They're currently level on points with Lyon and Midtjylland in the Europa League. Part of the reason they did so well in the second half of last season was because of the smart addition of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, Axel Disasi, and Donyell Malen in January.
Villa didn't have much money to spend in the summer, but Emery hasn't ruled out bringing in new players. "Of course, we're open to it, and the club is working on it," he said.
Last year was great. The way Malen, Rashford, Asensio, and Disasi came in helped us a lot.
This year, we have to be ready and think about how we can improve the team and do it if we need to.
Emery isn't talking about titles or transfers, but the mood at Bodymoor Heath is that the club is feeling a new sense of what's possible.
They are calm, focused, and quietly ambitious. This Villa team is enjoying the ride, step by step, with a growing feeling that something special could happen at the end of the season.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.
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