Unai Emery identifies costly mistakes after Aston Villa lose 0-3 to Barcelona: ‘We faced one of the favourites’

Unai Emery identifies costly mistakes after Aston Villa lose 0-3 to Barcelona: ‘We faced one of the favourites’ Aston Villa manager Unai Emery admitted his side must learn from their 3-0 defeat against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, acknowledging that defensive mistakes and missed opportunities proved costly.  Speaking after the match, the Spaniard insisted his team had shown enough quality to compete but recognised the difference in efficiency between the two sides. The result also extended Emery’s difficult record against Barcelona. Across 31 meetings with the Catalan club, he has recorded 22 defeats, six draws and just three victories. Emery identifies Barcelona’s punishment of defensive mistakes Emery was disappointed with the result but stressed that the defeat could still contribute to Aston Villa’s development as a team. “We’re not happy with the result either, even though it doesn’t have any immediate consequences. We’re building the team and this should help us continue with that process. “We need to learn, draw conclusions and find ways to compete better,” he explained, as per Mundo Deportivo . Emery admits Aston Villa made several defensive mistakes. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) The Villa manager particularly highlighted his team’s problems when attempting to play out from the back.  Barcelona capitalised on those mistakes, turning defensive errors into opportunities to establish control of the contest. “We’ve had clear chances to score, but we haven’t taken them. Barcelona capitalised on some of our mistakes when bringing the ball out of defence,” he said. Emery believes Villa missed opportunities to change the match Despite the scoreline, Emery felt his players had opportunities to make the contest considerably more competitive. The Spaniard pointed to the chances Villa created after Barcelona took the lead, believing an equaliser could have changed the momentum and forced the hosts to approach the remainder of the match differently. “We had clear chances after the 1-0. If we’d equalised, the match would have been back on.  Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Camp Nou. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images) “I remained optimistic, even at 2-0. With the third goal, the match was effectively over as far as our chances were concerned,” he concluded. Champions League remains central to Emery’s ambitions Emery also emphasised that competing against Europe’s strongest teams remains an important part of Aston Villa’s development. Rather than allowing the defeat to overshadow their ambitions, he wants his players to use the experience to improve their performances at the highest level. “We prioritise competing in the Champions League; we want to secure our place there. “ We’ve faced one of the favourites and, at times during the match, we’ve shown that we’re capable of competing,” he concluded.