Aston Villa’s run of 11 straight home wins in all competitions was ended by Everton on Sunday as Tierno Barry scored the only goal of the game.
Unai Emery was depressed after the defeat (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Disappointed manager Unai Emery insisted third-placed Aston Villa are not even “top-five contenders” in the Premier League after their 1-0 defeat to Everton. In one of the strangest post-match interviews this season, Emery appeared to bemoan the lack of depth in his squad after Villa’s run of 11 consecutive home wins in all competitions suddenly came to an end.
Tierno Barry’s second-half goal made the difference as David Moyes’ side emerged victorious in Sunday’s hard-fought battle. After the Gunners drew 0-0 away with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Villa were left disappointed by a lackluster attack as they missed a chance to move within four points of league leaders Arsenal.
Earlier in the day, second place Manchester City lost 2-0 to Manchester United. However, it was a weekend in which none of the title contenders managed to collect the maximum points.
In an interview with Sky Sports after the defeat, Emery was first asked if he was surprised by the result. “No,” the Villa boss answered frankly, smiling to hide his anger.
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Emery was then pressed on the reason for Everton’s victory. “Because they compete very well,” said the Spaniard.
“We had chances, but we didn’t score and they didn’t have many chances, but they scored. They (Everton) competed well and defended well after the goal. Sure, we can avoid goals, but we didn’t.”
“In many games we are playing to win. They fought well, this is the Premier League. They are a very good team and they have a very good coach.”
Asked about referee Tony Harrington’s decision not to give James Garner a second yellow card for pushing Morgan Rodgers on the edge of the box, Emery said: “It’s the referee’s decision.”
At the end of the interview, the Villa manager was asked what response was important for his side, who travel to Newcastle next Sunday after their Europa League game against Fenerbahce in midweek. But he wasn’t interested in thinking ahead.
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Aston Villa missed a chance to put pressure on Arsenal (Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
“We are not yet top-five contenders,” Emery declared. “We’re not a contender right now, but there are other teams that have more potential than us.”
The reporter asked, “Why do you think that?” Emery looked at her and remained silent until the interview was over. Reacting to his comments, Sky critic Jamie Redknapp said: “This was certainly one of the strangest interviews I’ve ever seen.
“The last time he was silent, it was a very smart question. I don’t know what he was trying to imply. Maybe he’s just really devastated by that performance and result. They need players.”
“We looked at their bench and they were short. They had no options. Harvey Elliott was not on the bench due to lack of movement and Jadon Sancho was ill.
“Boubakar Camara looks like he’s going to be out for a long time and John McGinn has a knee problem. They will need to strengthen their midfield areas.”
Unai Emery has expressed his hopes for Aston Villa to win the title (Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Former Villa star Ashley Young added: “He seemed really angry. It could be because of the injury or another injury to the list with John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana sidelined.”
“Is it a sale of Donyell Mullen? Is he speaking out to tell the owners, ‘We need more players’? It was a strange interview.
“You would think he would say more about the game and about missing the chance to close the gap to Arsenal. It’s strange that there are five teams with more potential.”
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