Fixtures
- Aston Villa Vs. Brighton and Hove Albion – Mon, Dec 30th 2024, 19:45
Unai Emery reflected positively on 2024 after Aston Villa brought the curtain down on the year with a draw against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The Spaniard and his squad guided the club into the Champions League for the first time via a fourth-place finish in May and they’ve since equipped themselves superbly in Europe’s top competition.
Villa have continued to be competitive in the top flight over the first half of the current campaign, and Emery is pleased with 12 months of progress.
“It was amazing, everything we did [in 2024],” he said.
“Of course, we want to be consistent and trying to get more. We’re in the process and in the race to keep a European position again.
“We’re finishing this year very happy with the year we closed in Villa Park with our supporters because we’re enjoying Europe in the Champions League.
“More or less, we’re being consistent. Today we lost two points, but we have to accept it, keep going and try to learn from everything we did today for the next match, starting the new year against Leicester on Saturday.”
The team’s final game of the year was a rollercoaster of emotions, with Villa hitting back to lead 2-1 after the visitors struck early on.
An equaliser in the final ten minutes earned the away side a point and left Emery’s squad heading into 2025 sat ninth in the table.
“We are finishing the first part of the season with the opportunity lost to be with 31 [points], but today we played after minute 20 like we were planning,” he reflected.
“We conceded one goal and after this goal it was more difficult to come back the result, but we did it. We were controlling the game, dominating the match and creating chances.
“We needed to score the third goal to try and close the match. We didn’t do it and they had some chances, scored a goal and got the draw.
“I think we deserved more but we have to accept it. We are finishing with 29 points – more or less a little bit under our expectation to be in Europe, but the league is very tight.
“There are a lot of teams around us and we have to try to be positive. We have to try and end the year feeling strong like we are at home in Villa Park.
“We are in the Champions League this year and we’re enjoying it. We’re trying to get a European position this year.
“Today, we’re a bit disappointed with the result, but I’m very proud of our work, of the players and of the supporters for the whole season.”
