Emery reacts to loss against Manchester City

Unai Emery says Aston Villa will need to continue to use their squad as they move forward into future challenges.

Facing the second of three games in seven days, the head coach freshened his team up with five changes before a sixth was enforced by Emi Martinez’s withdrawal through illness.

Emery reflected on the need for squad rotation after a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night.

“I’m a little bit disappointed but we tried to compete until minute 60 when they scored their third goal,” he said.

“We were planning to change some players, but after they scored the third goal it was more difficult. They were pushing a lot and controlling the game more than us.

“We were getting some transitions but they showed their power and their capacity to beat us. It was a very tough match.

“We have to accept the result. We had to give some players a chance to play, like Robin Olsen, like Tim and striker Jhon Durán, Zaniolo and Morgan.

“I am happy with the opportunity they had to get confidence and be stronger in our structure. We will need a lot of players for the next matches we are facing.”

Villa competed hard in Manchester and after falling behind early on, levelled the scores via Jhon Durán.

Emery was happy to see his striker scoring and is now looking ahead to Brentford at home on Saturday.

He said: “It was a very good goal.

“In the second half we were demanding more and more of him because maybe he was tired.

“He can exploit his power like he did in the first half and continue getting fit for the next matches.”