Aston Villa Boss Unai Emery Disagrees with Arne Slot But Makes Brilliant Liverpool ‘Levels’ Claim

Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League, and Unai Emery has shared his thoughts on the result.

Unai Emery believes that Aston Villa deserved to take a point from their encounter with Liverpool.

The Reds had the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League by 10 points but were held to a 2-2 draw at Villa Park. Liverpool initially took the lead through Mo Salah’s 29th-minute goal but were behind by half-time after Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins scored for the home team.

In the second half, Liverpool equalized through Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Darwin Nunez missed a golden opportunity to give the visitors the lead. Villa also had a late chance to secure all three points, but Donyell Malen’s shot narrowly missed in stoppage time.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot felt his team should have emerged victorious and was dissatisfied with the result. In contrast, Emery was happy with Villa’s performance and felt the draw was a fair outcome. I’m happy with the match we played and how we performed,” he told VillaTV.

“We’re in a new era, a new way. We’re not happy drawing at home, of course, we did against Ipswich Town on Saturday and again we repeated with a draw.

“I think the result was fair, because I think both teams were creating chances and sometimes dominating one team and then another team. More or less, over 90 minutes, I think the result is fair.

“But, of course, we wanted to win and the most important thing was we showed until the last minute how we were pushing, how we were attacking, trying to get a third goal. And we tried until the last moment, but the result is not enough. We can be happy with how we played, how we performed.”

Liverpool remain on course to secure their 20th English title and their second in the Premier League era. They are currently eight points clear of second-placed Arsenal, although they have played one more game.

Emery admits that Liverpool had more opportunities to score against Villa and that the quality of their attacking players made them challenging to defend against.

‘Levels’

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Emery said: “Liverpool is the best team in the Premier League and Champions League but we compete and show our capacity to face them – going close to get a victory.

“A result is fair for both teams because they had chances and we had chances. They maybe had clearer chances than us but I have to accept it. This draw is adding on point, not being enough but we have to keep going.

“I think sometimes we weren’t holding the line like we planned but this is a process. Axel Disasi and Andres Garcia are new players and we are working in training and through the video but have to practice and at this level – with [Mo] Salah, with [Diogo] Jota, with Darwin Nunez, with Luis Diaz – these are the levels we can face. Sometimes we were not holding the line how we wanted but we keep moving forward and try to get better.”

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