Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expressed his disappointment after his side was held to a 2-2 draw by Brighton on Monday night. Villa had taken a 2-1 lead but were pegged back by Simon Adingra’s 81st-minute equaliser. Emery acknowledged that, while his team deserved more from the game, they failed to maintain their advantage after a strong second-half performance.
“We were clinical when creating chances,” Emery said, reflecting on his team’s attacking efforts. “We started not 100% in the meeting we had before to face them, but after conceding the first goal, we reacted very well. We played a fantastic match after that and created enough chances to win.” Despite Villa’s overall dominance, Emery accepted the result, noting that with 29 points at the halfway point of the season, the team was in a reasonable position, though there was room for improvement.
Emery also highlighted the defensive issues that led to Villa conceding goals, which they need to address moving forward. “This league is very tight,” he said, stressing the importance of improving the team’s defensive solidity. “We have to try to improve and correct why we are conceding a lot of goals.”
The Villa boss also provided an update on Pau Torres, who suffered an injury during the match. While Emery did not believe the injury was too serious, he suspected Torres may have broken his metatarsal. “We have players to replace him, but he is very important for us,” Emery said. He added that further tests would confirm the extent of Torres’ injury.
Looking ahead, Emery will be hoping to bounce back and correct the defensive lapses that cost his team two points. Despite the setback, Villa’s overall performance provided some optimism as they head into the latter stages of the season.
