This new Champions League format has many surprises in store. After three days, it’s Unai Emery’s Aston Villa who take the lead and a quick glance at the calendar shows that it could last a little longer. The Birmingham club travels to Club Brugge in the next match before two more substantial pieces: receiving a Juventus that can still be improved before going to Leizpig. This leading position in this unique C1 group is not due to chance. The Villans still beat a major European player at home, Bayern Munich (1-0).
Three games, three victories, Aston Villa is the only club in Europe with Liverpool to have made such a debut. This is the consequence of the work carried out by Unai Emery, who is celebrating his two years at the head of the club. He succeeded Steven Gerrard, then stuck in 17th place in the Premier League. The recovery was spectacular with qualification for the Europa Conference League at the end of the season where Villa reached the semi-finals last spring, while finishing the last year in 4th place ahead of teams like Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Manchester United .
Unai Emery: “My second dream is to win a trophy»
“I hope we will improve again and again» blurted Emery to the press this Friday. Still determined, the Spanish coach only sees it as the beginning of a long road ahead. “It’s been two years since I arrived here. We are very demanding and we started to improve every moment we worked here. We achieved some goals quickly, but there is still much work to dohe insists. I enjoyed my first year, even though we only played on weekends. My requirement is to play Europe – that’s the first objective“.
The former Parisian coach wants more. Despite the ultra-competitive world in which he operates, he is aiming for a title. “My second dream is to win a trophy. We look forward to continuing to see each other progress. It’s about facing goals every day. We now play a lot of matches and we work more hours because we have to prepare for each match and we don’t rest like two years ago, playing only one match a week. I feel comfortable and confident with the potential we have. It’s a huge responsibility.»
Permanently install Aston Villa at the top of the bill
4th in the Premier League as he enters this 9th day where the reception of Bournemouth awaits him this Saturday, Unai Emery still has in mind the draw of his men at Ipswich on September 29. “Players must be required to continually improve their mentality. We have some examples here. At Ipswich I had doubts about whether we had shown the mentality I wanted. The best teams and the best players approach every match with the goal of winning it.» The message got through. The Spaniard is not there to make up the numbers but to put Aston Villa in the forefront.
