Donyell Malen scored a brace as Aston Villa defeated Young Boys 2 to 1 in the Europa League. The victory strengthened Villa’s position in the competition, moving them to third in the standings with four wins and one draw.
After the match, head coach Unai Emery expressed both satisfaction and caution when assessing his team’s performance.“The team was very focused in the match. My first analysis is that we were consistent, but when we were winning two nil we did not use our opportunities to score a third.
“We know we need the goal advantage to be in the top eight in the Europa League. We relaxed a little bit in the second half.”
Emery also praised Young Boys for their resilience: “A team like Young Boys, experienced players and experienced in Europe, never giving up, they could score a goal like they did and we could get in trouble. We deserved to win but we must learn to avoid this in future.”
The match was marred by an incident involving crowd trouble, during which Malen was struck by an object thrown from the stands. Emery addressed the situation directly.
“We need respect for both sides. It is not necessary to get a moment like we had today.”
On Malen’s condition, he reassured supporters: “I think he is OK.”
Aston Villa will now look to build on their strong position as they continue their push for a top eight finish in the Europa League group stage.