Every word Unai Emery said about Aston Villa draw, Zaniolo, Diaby impact and Champions League race
Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Unai Emery speaks to the media after his side's draw with West Ham
Unai Emery sat down with the media after Aston Villa's 1-1 draw with West Ham at the London Stadium.
Nicolo Zaniolo came off the bench to rescue a point for Villa after Michail Antonio had put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute. Here is every word Emery said in his post-match press conference...
What are your thoughts on the performance, Unai?
“We have to accept the result. The first half we didn’t control the game and we were more or less trying to control the game, imposing our positioning and create in the attacking third with the possibility to threaten them.
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“When we got in the box, we weren’t really clear. Even when they were doing a high press, we didn’t get good options with players to dominate the match. Our plan was to try and keep being consistent. The second half in this idea too.
“When they scored the goal, the game changed and the plan too. The second half, we did better than in the first. We got in the box more and we were clearer in attacks.
“They defended very low and they did it well. Even the goalkeeper was today saving some good actions from us. We were dominating and playing well. Then, we continued to try to win the match.
“The spirit we showed was what I want. VAR is fair for both teams and the result is good for us.”
What can Zaniolo’s goal do for his confidence?
“Today, the players who were on the bench, they were focused. Nicolo is one of them. His impact was fantastic today and hopefully we can add him in this move for the rest of the season.”
What was the thought process behind starting Duran and Watkins?
“Of course, we are trying as well to use our players, giving them opportunities to get experiences and minutes. They need to practice playing.
“Today, Morgan and Duran both had this possibility. We didn’t control the game like we planned, but in the first half even with other players this might have been the same.
“We tried to get everybody to feel comfortable in the structure, playing in our idea and style. But in the first half we didn’t connect very well in the right side.
“The second half we changed a little bit and for example, Diaby felt comfortable playing as well as a number 10. We connected with him and Leon Bailey very well.”
You must be happy with the position you’re in heading into the international break?
“This point is important because we are still being fourth. I will want to wait until the day 33 or 34 to change our objective if we keep this position.
“We are still being now playing and fighting for it. We have other teams behind us and they could get to us. Until the day 33 or 34, I am not speaking about the new objective to be in the top four or top five.
“We have to be happy, we have to be proud of our work until today. We have to respect the competition. Now we are going to rest and we are adding more and more players progressively, increasing in our squad players who go to their national team. I think this is good because it is very good news for us as they are playing well.
“Other players will rest and we are going to then focus in two weeks at home against Wolverhampton.”
What did you make of the VAR decision at the end which took so long?
“VAR is fair for both teams. Always when it is for us or for the opponent, I accept it.”
Tielemans replaced McGinn in the XI, how do you rate his performance?
“It was good. It was a good challenge for him to play there with Luiz. I think they played both very well.”