Emery has no complaints after tired Aston Villa lose late on at Brighton

Unai Emery accepts Aston Villa can have no complaints over their 1-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.

The Villans fell to a narrow defeat at the Amex Stadium on Sunday as Joao Pedro converted late on after his initial penalty attempt was saved.

Villa looked sluggish throughout yet were just minutes away from claiming a point that would have further boosted their top-four prospects.

John McGinn also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but Emery admits his side were not deserving of a point on their travels.

“We competed but it was not enough,” he told BBC Sport. “We weren’t strong enough in 90 minutes to deserve anything more than we achieved.

“Now the most important thing is to rest, to rest today, rest tomorrow, after the match.

“We are having an amazing season, brilliant, but of course we are at the last chance and we have to try and give everything.”

Joao with the crucial winner! Our @MonsterEnergy Moment of the Match! pic.twitter.com/cHXKs29r3s

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) May 5, 2024

Villa remain seven points clear of fifth-place Tottenham, albeit having played a game more, after Spurs’ 4-2 loss at Liverpool.

Before focus can turn to the Villans’ home match with Liverpool in a week’s time, they first travel to Olympiacos for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.

Emery’s men have a major task on their hands if they are to reach the final as they trail 4-2 from last week’s first leg at Villa Park.

“We want to put in a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiakos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest,” Emery added.

“We had a lot of players injured and they are recovering. The most important thing is to get players back for balance and to be competitive.”

Victory for Brighton was much needed after going six without a win in the Premier League, failing to score in four of those matches.

While Roberto De Zerbi was pleased to get back to winning ways, he accepts Brighton were given a helping hand by Villa’s quick turnaround in games.

“To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired,” he said. “They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries.

“I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Playing against Unai Emery’s teams is very tough.

“We played well, we deserved to win and we could have scored more goals. I think Robin Olsen was the best player for Villa.”