Aston Villa manager Unai Emery speaking to TNT Sports: “Happy yes, but we are trying to get balance in everything. We played the first leg here and won, and it is a fantastic result. How we did the 90 minutes, I can feel more or less good for some things and not too good for the others. A good result, but we still have the second leg to play.
"First half we were a bit shy. We needed to try to do more passes, to get better positions in the attacking third but we were losing the ball easily. We were not conceding a lot but with a few moments we conceded.
"Set-pieces are always important but today it was our priority defensively and offensively because we knew before the match that it would be one way to try to get something. In the first half we scored one goal, other chances as well.
"The result was much better than the match we played in the first half, but in the second half it was completely different. We dominated them and controlled the game like we planned to in the first half but we didn't do, and we were feeling comfortable. We reacted well offensively when they scored.
"In the second leg they are going to try to suppress us and my message inside the dressing room is to keep playing the second leg with the same plan, well with the new plan we will have, but keep respecting them."
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins speaking to TNT Sports: “It could’ve been different. They had a disallowed goal and if that turns and it was 1-0 and stayed that way, it would’ve been a long way back for us. We got lucky. They played tough today.
"We got the goal from the set-piece and that kind of took the sting out of the game. They were dominant before that, but just before half-time is a great time to score. We got the second after half-time and then we felt we always were going to score more.
"Back end of the season, I'm raring to go. I could play another 90 minutes. I'm excited for the next few games. I'm hungry.
"Their winger was causing problems tonight. Great finish for his goal and at 2-1 it's all to play for. That other goal, taking a 2-0 lead back to Villa Park, makes it tough for them.
"We have to play like that very game. Like against West Ham [before the international break], we played well. We have to keep pushing, everyone around us is winning. We're in a great spot at the end of the season, and it's all to play for."
Did you know?
- Aston Villa have won 24 of their last 35 games in major European competition (D3 L8), with only Real Madrid (26) and Bayern München (25) winning more major European games than the Villans' 24 since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
- Aston Villa have scored in their last 11 games in the Europa League, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition (since at least 2007/2008).
