Unai Emery was delighted with the commitment of his Aston Villa players after they secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Villans had to withstand a barrage of pressure from the Blues, but held firm to secure a crucial three points.
The visitors took the lead in the first half when Jack Grealish fired home from close range, and they doubled their advantage shortly after the break when Anwar El Ghazi converted a penalty. The result sees Aston Villa move up to 11th in the Premier League table, and Emery was full of praise for his side’s performance.
“I am very proud of my players today,” said the Spaniard. “They showed great commitment and determination throughout the game, and it was a deserved victory. We had to defend for long periods of the game, but we did it well and managed to score two goals which gave us the win.”
The result was a major boost for Aston Villa, who have been struggling for form in recent weeks. Emery was keen to stress that his side must now build on this result and push on up the table. “This win is a great confidence boost for us,” he said. “We must now use this as a platform to push on and try to climb up the table. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I am confident that we can do it.”
Aston Villa’s win over Chelsea was their first away victory in the Premier League since December, and it will give them a huge boost heading into their next game against Newcastle United. Emery will be hoping his side can replicate their performance from Stamford Bridge and secure another three points. Fans can watch highlights of the game on Match of the Day on Saturday 1 April at 22:20 on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport app.