Aston Villa defeated Newcastle 1-0 away in this round of Premier League fixtures, with Matheus Cunha's goal securing Emery's 100th win as a Premier League manager. After the match, Emery spoke to Sky Sports about the team's overall performance and Jackson's display.
Emery on the 1-0 victory: “It was very hard-fought, but you had to grit your teeth in the second half, didn’t you?”
Very, very tough. It was a difficult match, but this victory is fantastic. The team showed great competitiveness and, when we needed to defend, maintained our shape, with everyone demonstrating the necessary commitment. We have been working on these aspects both during matches and in our analysis, studying how to implement our game plan.
At the same time, there were periods when we had opportunities to take the initiative in possession, playing our own game through our positioning and technical strengths. Sometimes we executed our game plan through transitions; at other times, we kept possession to restrict our opponents and control the game. Broadly speaking, we achieved this over the 90 minutes.
We relied more on transitions, and we defended very well, giving our opponents few chances. We also had some very good chances to score a second goal and seal the game. However, I think the most important thing today is that the team continues to improve and show its competitiveness, and everyone knows which areas we need to keep working on.
What was your initial reaction to Sven Botman's tackle on Nicolas Jackson, which was reviewed but remained a yellow card?
Jackson has adapted very quickly. In his first few games, he still had a lot to learn about our system. But through consistent training and putting what he has learned into practice in competitive matches, his performances have gradually improved. Now, when we need to play in transition, he can help the team. When we need him to hold up the ball and buy us time to retain possession in the attacking third and build up play, he can also be very effective. I think this is very important.
Of course, we also have Bryan Mbeumo and Tammy Abraham available, although Bryan was on the bench today. We hope they can use their respective strengths and provide support when we need to bring on another striker to replace Jackson.
However, Jackson is performing exceptionally well at the moment. He didn't score today, but he made many excellent offensive contributions and several good passes, creating chances for his teammates. I think he did his job excellently.
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