Emery: Villa ´missed some energy´ in Man Utd stalemate

Unai Emery believes Aston Villa “missed some energy” during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.

Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans’ second-half attempt.

And Emery believes his side’s midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.

“It is not the best result, but it’s not the worst,” the Villa boss said. “I think a draw is fair.

“We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene’s stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn’t.

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“We missed some energy. Maybe it’s because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving.”

It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.

After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.

“We are in the process of building a team,” he added. “We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.

“We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We’re going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding.”