Unai Emery insisted Aston Villa have plenty to be proud of despite a 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia gave PSG the lead 20 minutes in before Brian Madjo’s levelled from John McGinn’s deep cross before the break, only for Desire Doue to settle it in the second half.
Speaking to TNT Sports afterwards, Emery was upbeat despite facing the reigning Champions League holders: “With a loss, you can never feel happy but how we compete, how the players respond on the field for 90 minutes – and our chances to score – we must feel really very proud of what we have done today,” he said.
Villa arguably created the better chances across the 90 minutes, with Safonov saving from Hemmings and Zaire-Emery making a crucial block to deny Joao Gomes as the Europa League holders pushed for an equaliser that never came.
Emery was particularly encouraged by what he saw from Madjo and Hemmings, both of whom started in Salzburg. “Their experiences and having days like today are very important,” he said. “They show how they are learning after their hard work. This is the way – we decided before the game how we wanted to play, we have worked the players in these positions.”
The Villa manager also confirmed that World Cup absentees Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins will now return to training: “They are joining us after this match. They are not going to be there on Saturday but they will start training with us now.
“We wanted to give them four weeks’ holiday because the season was very demanding. We think it’s better to work with players that are fit. Overall we can feel proud of everything we’ve done. Some changes will be needed but we are confident.”
Buendia echoes positive words
Emiliano Buendia echoed his manager’s sentiments, admitting the result stung but pointing to the quality of the opposition: “Not a good feeling. We can be proud of the game we did – we competed well, we had chances. They are top players. They get chances, they score and they won the game.”
The Argentine also spoke of the character shown in the second half after Doue’s winner: “We were there and competing very well at 1-1. At the end of the first half we had chances. Second half we were showing character.”
Despite the defeat, Buendia was keen to stress the platform Emery has built at Villa Park: “There are changes but the structure, the manager and the club want to keep. We have to keep working hard.”
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