Unai Emery spoke of his delight at guaranteeing Aston Villa’s top-five finish in the Premier League.
The head coach was speaking after Villa’s 2-2 draw against Chelsea, which moved the club 13 points clear of sixth place in the table and mathematically clinched at least Europa League football next season.
Emery’s fourth-placed side are now also seven points above fifth in the table, albeit having played three matches more, in the chase for a Champions League spot.
Reflecting on the clash at Villa Park, Emery admitted his side could do better but accepted a share of the spoils.
“Very, very happy,” he told VillaTV post-match.
“I’m very happy because we achieved today playing next year in the Europa League.
“We were here with our supporters enjoying the moment, trying to add another challenge we have in front which is to get fourth position for Champions League.
“But, of course, playing against Chelsea, at the beginning we were winning 2-0 and it was difficult how we lost two points.
“But they deserved it and were contenders in front of us at the beginning of the season to be in the Champions League or the Europa League.
“And after 35 matches we are being consistent and we are now in front of them.
“Playing here against them, they showed their power, they showed they have very good players and we competed more or less.
“Our performance was not enough and, really, we could do better, but I have to accept it and overall to be happy.”
You can watch Unai’s full interview below…
