Aston Villa: Unai Emery reaches milestone in win over Lille
Villa’s decision to sign Emery four years ago was an indication of their ambitions to make their mark on the European stage.
Success in the Europa League will have the same effect, although they still sit fourth in England’s top flight, guaranteeing a place in next term’s Champions League.
But Thursday was all about regaining their rhythm and some confidence after a four-game winless run domestically, including defeats against Newcastle, Chelsea and bottom team Wolves.
Speaking to TNT Sports, returning captain John McGinn suggested the result provided Villa with a “building block” and opportunity to “reset” after a difficult few weeks.
“We needed a reset. The last month wasn’t great,” he said.
“We can’t dwell on that. We can learn from it but what we have to do is build and this is a building block. We know we can do much better but this is a good result.”
“We have shown signs that we will do our best, but we still have a long way to go. There is also a huge league game on Sunday.” [at third-placed Manchester United] So it’s a tough series of fixtures but it was a good start.
Meanwhile, Emery said before kick-off that he used the struggles of his Premier League rivals in the Champions League as a motivation tool.
“We respect this competition because we know the difficulties of every away game in Europe.
“We know how English teams compete in the Champions League, as they did this week.”
