BBC pundit Rachel Brown-Finnis expects Aston Villa to be in the mix to qualify for the Champions League as Unai Emery ‘reinvented’ a ‘turgid’ squad under Steven Gerrard.
Emery has now savoured 11 months at the Villa Park helm after agreeing to replace Gerrard in charge last October. He would not arrive in Birmingham until November 1, at which point Aston Villa sat 16th in the table. Yet Emery still guided the claret-and-blue club into Europe.
Despite taking over a relegation-threatened side, Emery took Aston Villa to seventh and into the Europa Conference League. He almost secured a Europa League spot, too, but for a one-point deficit to Brighton & Hove Albion. Now, their sights are set on the Champions League.
Brown-Finnis expects Aston Villa to challenge for Champions League qualification
A resounding 6-1 win over Brighton on Saturday moved Aston Villa above the Seagulls. Both have taken 15 points through their opening seven games to cement claims to being top-four contenders. But the Villans now have the superior goal difference after a remarkable result.
Aston Villa and Brighton have also both enjoyed superior starts to the season than Chelsea and Manchester United. Newcastle United have also not been as dominant as Eddie Howe’s side were last season as the Magpies finished fourth. But Chelsea’s plight is the most severe.
So, given how Emery now has Aston Villa playing less than a year on from replacing Gerrard at the Villa Park helm, Brown-Finnis feels Champions League qualification might be possible.
“Villa were absolutely turgid to watch under Steven Gerrard,” Brown-Finnis told the BBC’s Football Focus. “He couldn’t get a song out of almost any of the players. When Unai Emery came in, he picked up the players and in a way reinvented the club.
“There is no coincidence in the form book suggesting that they are close to [the] top four. I expect them to be up there this season fighting for the Champions League. That is the quality that the manager is extracting from the side.”
Thrashing Brighton 6-1 shows how far Emery has taken the Villans
Brighton are likely to be Aston Villa’s main rival to disrupt the established top clubs for a top-four finish. But Saturday’s result will give the Villans and Emery further encouragement that they can better the Seagulls. It also marked a Villans-record 10th-straight home league win.
Aston Villa were well worth their remarkable scoreline, too, as Emery’s team even set a new club record for Brighton. The 6-1 scoreline marks the Seagulls’ worst-ever result in a Premier League fixture. Roberto De Zerbi’s side struggled to overcome a terrorising Aston Villa game.
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