Aston Villa manager Unai Emery gave a very blunt interview to BBC Sport after the game against Bournemouth. He spoke right after his team drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Emery admit...
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery gave a very blunt interview to BBC Sport after the game against Bournemouth. He spoke right after his team drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Emery admitted his players couldn’t get a grip on the game during a messy second half. He said the home side took over and forced Villa to sit deep and defend for their lives.
Emery mentioned that Matty Cash missed a great chance to grab a late win. Still, Bournemouth looked much more dangerous and spent a lot more time in Villa’s box. Because of that, the manager called the result a very good point. He knew Villa were lucky to leave with a draw after the amount of pressure the players faced late in the game.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, speaking to BBC Sport: “The second half, we couldn’t [play how they wanted], they pushed us. They were in our box more times than we wanted. We tried to get some momentum to dominate. We created one chance with Matty Cash, but they created more. It’s a very good point.
“We defended fantastically. It’s necessary to practice defending throw-ins and corners. A lot of duels. They are producing a lot of hands. We must fight.”
What do Aston Villa need to improve on?
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 07: Unai Emery, Manager of Aston Villa, looks on during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa at Vitality Stadium on February 07, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
The 54-year-old Spaniard now has a job on his hands. He needs to figure out why his team lost their way so badly after Morgan Rogers scored the opener. Saturday’s match showed a real weakness in how Villa handle a lead. When Bournemouth turned up the heat, the Villa midfield kept giving the ball away. This let Rayan grab an equaliser and nearly gave Bournemouth a win.
The game showed a major flaw in Villa’s setup. They find it hard to stop a team’s momentum when they don’t have the ball. Instead of pressing back, they tend to drop back into a shell and just try to survive.
To stay in the race for the Champions League, Emery must find a way to stop these momentum swings. The team cannot keep counting on Emiliano Martínez to make big saves or hoping for a lucky break. That will not work forever if they cannot keep the ball.
Villa need to keep possession further up the field to take the load off the defence. If they keep letting aggressive teams like Bournemouth dictate the game, they will not pick up the points they need.
Category: General Sports
