After Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League (ECL) semi-final match, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery explained the team’s performance.
In a shocking upset at Villa Park, Ayoub El Kaabi scored a three trick to help Olympiakos defeat Aston Villa.
For Emery’s squad, the goals came from Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby.
After the match, Emery commented that Aston Villa struggled to maintain control of the game versus the away team.
While speaking to the media after the game, Emery stated, “We are frustrated and disappointed, we didn’t play well.”.
At the outset, this is the best summary I can provide. The game was out of our hands. Time flew by while we played.
We needed more than one, two, or three passes into their box in order to prevent them from establishing good positions in a number of instances. Plus, they were playing so freely and aggressively. We had a totally different plan.
Their first-leg victory is well-deserved, so congratulations. Of course, they are now favorites, but we will attempt to return. We will play there and provide tonight a different kind of performance.
Next week, we’ll have the return leg.