Aston Villa claimed maximum points with a 2-1 win against Basel in the Europa League. Goals from Evann Guessand and Emiliano Buendia secured the victory for the Villans.
The win moves Aston Villa to third place in the Europa League table with 15 points, having won five matches and lost only one in this season’s European competition.
After the match, head coach Unai Emery spoke to the media via the Aston Villa official website and praised the supporters and his team’s performance.
“I’m thankful, firstly for the supporters because they are with us here,” Emery said. “They travelled here to support us and that’s very important for us we are feeling it. How we played and how we managed 90 minutes, today was a key match to try to be close to be in the top eight the target we set. We got three points. It was very difficult. We needed to manage 90 minutes and our momentum, making the difference in the result. The last 10-15 minutes we were struggling because they were pushing and had chances. How they were playing here and how they were getting victories here at home, we were respecting them. We competed fantastic, and I’m so happy because we are with 15 points. In the Europa League, we are doing our process, progressively getting better and respecting this competition. We’re trying to set some targets during the process and achieving the objectives we are facing.”
Emery also highlighted the importance of giving playing time to squad members. “We continued to give chances to some players to try and feel comfortable in our structure, tactically, and individually as well feeling confidence. We keep going, focusing on Sunday’s match in London against West Ham. It’s very important for how we can keep the consistency we are achieving and the competitive way we are trying to get.”
Beating Basel wrapped up Aston Villa’s European schedule for 2025. The team will resume their Europa League campaign at Fenerbahçe in January. Emery reflected on the value of the experience. “In Europe it’s always difficult, and the atmosphere was fantastic. They were feeling in this match something very important for their way in this Europa League. We respect it and we are adding more experiences ourselves in this competition, in our way, and trying to get better in every process we are having.”
Aston Villa now turn their attention back to the Premier League where they will face West Ham in their next fixture.