Emery defends rotation as Villa dumped out EFL Cup by Palace

Unai Emery refused to blame his team selection as Aston Villa missed out on the EFL Cup quarter-finals after their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Villa were dumped out of the competition in the fourth round, as Palace stunned the home crowd with Eberechi Eze’s headed opener.

Both Eze and Adam Wharton were forced off injured in the first half, during which Jhon Duran levelled proceedings, though Daichi Kamada slammed into the bottom-left corner from outside the box to snatch the win.

Leon Bailey, John McGinn and Diego Carlos were the only regular starters Emery fielded in a rotated lineup, though the Villa manager defended his decision after the full-time whistle.

“We started with 11 players who are in the first team,” Emery told Sky Sports. “We started with Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos, and they can play normally in the starting 11.

“We started with [Ian] Maatsen, [Boubacar] Kamara, McGinn, Duran and [Emiliano] Buendia. I don’t know if I can have any regrets.

“Today, we competed and we lost, but we competed with the idea of players getting performances. Of course, we are frustrated, but if I repeated it again, I would play with the same players.”

We exit the Carabao Cup.#AVLCRY pic.twitter.com/4G9M2QJ6jt

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 30, 2024

Oliver Glasner’s Palace have struggled in the Premier League, leaving this result as somewhat of a surprise against Champions League opposition.

Victory came at a cost, however, as Eze limped off with a hamstring issue and Wharton suffered a groin problem.

“[We] started the game well,” Glasner told Sky Sports. “The problem [with Eze] was his hamstring, and we don’t know how serious it is.

“We concede and then have Adam’s [Wharton] groin issue. [On Tuesday] he said he was fine, but his pain got worse. It’s too early, but I am positive as it’s nothing new. He has had groin problems for many months.

“We thought he needed a break, but yesterday, he gave the thumbs up.”