{"id":298778,"date":"2023-11-26T20:24:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T20:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=298778"},"modified":"2023-11-26T20:24:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T20:24:01","slug":"unai-emery-plays-down-aston-villas-top-four-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/unai-emery-plays-down-aston-villas-top-four-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"Unai Emery plays down Aston Villa&apos;s top four chances"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Unai Emery plays down Aston Villa&#8217;s top four chances and claims there are SEVEN teams more likely to finish above them after his side&#8217;s 2-1 triumph over Tottenham<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Unai Emery does not believe Aston Villa can qualify for the Champions League<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Sunday&#8217;s 2-1 win at Tottenham moved Villa above Spurs and into the top four\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>The curse of our game is abuse of referees, we are not doing enough to stop it. The punishments must be HARSH &#8211; It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Unai Emery is adamant Aston Villa are not realistic contenders for Champions League qualification &#8211; insisting seven clubs have a stronger chance of a top-four finish.<\/p>\n<p>Villa inflicted injury-affected Spurs\u2019 third consecutive loss to move fourth in the Premier League table on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>But he immediately moved to say his team should not be viewed as top-four challengers, saying: \u2018There are seven team who are contenders more than us for the top seven positions, while we are there we are going to try to enjoy it and keep it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We can get confidence from wins like this. But it is still clear in my mind, we need balance. It\u2019s 38 games, we have to show consistency.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/26\/18\/78253531-0-image-a-1_1701024680144.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Unai Emery does not yet believe Aston Villa can qualify for next seaon&#8217;s Champions League<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/26\/18\/78253533-0-image-a-2_1701024683672.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ollie Watkins&#8217; second-half winner against Tottenham moved Villa into the top four on Sunday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/26\/18\/78253585-0-image-a-5_1701024754758.jpg\" height=\"435\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Villa have lost just one of their last nine Premier League games and are currently just two points behind league leaders Arsenal<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are in a good position but not a contender but while we are there we have to try to keep it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have to be happy, we have to enjoy and be demanding as well. Now we have to rest and think about Thursday and then Sunday against Bournemouth.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>His opposing manager Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham will emerge stronger from their recent slump provided they stick to their footballing principles.<\/p>\n<p>Spurs dominated for large chunks of this clash; captain Heung Min Son had three goals disallowed &#8211; but failed to convert their dominance into victory.<\/p>\n<p>But Postecoglou is confident his team will return to winning ways provided they replicate this level of performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The outcome is obviously disappointing for our fans and players but I thought they did a fantastic job in playing the football we want to play,\u2019 said the Australian.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Any other day it&#8217;s a game we win comfortably but it is fine margins in football. Not happy with defeat but what you&#8217;re looking for is belief and intent with what we want to be.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I thought it was some of the best football we have played all year. We take the pain but in terms of progress, we continued down the road we want to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/26\/18\/78253535-0-image-a-3_1701024691368.jpg\" height=\"436\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou believes his side will emerge stronger from a recent slump that has seen them lose three games in a row<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/26\/18\/78253537-0-image-a-4_1701024694640.jpg\" height=\"514\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Postecoglou&#8217;s injury&#8217;hit side was weakened further against Villa when Rodrigo Bentancur was forced off in the first half<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We will get through this as long as we show the same intent. If we keep playing in that manner when we get everyone back &#8211; we are going be a pretty good football side.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Rodrigo Bentancur, making his first start since February after recovering from a long-term knee injury, limped off with an ankle problem to add to Spurs\u2019 sizeable injury concerns; while Pape Matar Sarr failed to make the squad after picking up a hamstring injury while on international duty with Senegal.<\/p>\n<p>On Bentancur, head coach Postecoglou added: \u2018We are not sure, it wasn\u2019t a great tackle. It\u2019s his ankle I think. He&#8217;s such a creative player, it&#8217;s the last thing we needed another injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We&#8217;ve got eight (injuries), Bentancur nine. We lost Ashley Phillips in the week as well. We&#8217;ll get through it, it might take a while but we will get through it.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12793127\/Unai-Emery-plays-Aston-Villas-four-chances-claims-SEVEN-teams-likely-finish-sides-2-1-triumph-Tottenham.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unai Emery plays down Aston Villa&#8217;s top four chances and claims there are SEVEN teams more likely to finish above [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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