When Manchester City beat Tottenham 2-0, it was not only Manchester City who were in sight of the title to celebrate, but also Aston Villa, who were successful in the race for the top four. Tottenham, who finished fifth, lost and secured a top-four finish for Aston Villa in the first round of the league to qualify for the next Champions League. Under the leadership of coach Unai Emery, Villa went from relegation to the top in just two years, and ended the 41-year wait to return to the highest level in Europe.
The dust has settled on four Champions League qualifications for the Premier League, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa securing them. Liverpool and Villa are sure to finish third and third respectively in this season's league, while Manchester City and Arsenal will have to fight until the final round of the title.
Villa, who finished fifth in the Championship in 18/19 and returned to the Premier League via the play-offs, initially struggled with relegation, captain John McGinn recalled that moment when he described it as a fantastic one, saying: "I was with Tyrone Mings, when I was in the Championship, Kortney Hause and the young Jacob Ramsey were already in the team. We were promoted to the Premier League together and remember with four games remaining, seven points behind, we were relegated. We've been building the team and we've achieved something we haven't done in 40 years. ”
Since returning to the Premier League, Villa have struggled to avoid relegation. A key step in the transformation of Mega will surely be the arrival of Unai Emery as manager at the end of 2022 to replace Steven Gerrard. When Villa appointed Unai Emery, the team were 14th and just three points off the relegation zone. In the 22/23 season, Unai Emery not only helped Villa relegation, but also rushed to seventh place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
This season, Villa have gone one step further, having been consistent since the start of the season and have been in the top four for most of the period since the end of November. Statistics show that since Emery took over, Villa's Premier League score is second only to Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. Although Villa were out of the Europa League semi-finals, they were able to hold on to the Premier League, and when Tottenham Hotspur lost to Manchester City, Villa were assured of a place in the next Champions League at the dinner of the team's annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night.
The last time Villa participated in the Champions League was in the 82/83 season, when the Champions League was not restructured and was still called the UEFA Champions Club Cup, when Villa were eliminated by Juventus in the quarter-finals. In the 81/82 season, Villa were the winners of the UEFA Champions Club Cup, beating Bayern Munich in the final. Although Villa finished runners-up in the Premier League in 92/93 and finished fourth in the league in 95/96, only the champions were eligible to play in the Champions League. After 41 years of waiting, Villa have finally returned to the highest level in Europe and qualified for the next Champions League.
Speaking at Villa's annual awards ceremony, Unai Emery said: "It's our dream, it's been dreaming since the beginning of the season. ”
The Spanish boss continued: "It's very difficult to play in the Premier League against the best teams. When you play in the Champions League, you have to play against the best teams from all over the country at the same time, which is amazing. ”
Unai Emery knows Villa's history well and is proud to have led the team back to the Champions League. "I want to enjoy more, and by the next season, we're going to start a new challenge," he said. It's about building another team, getting stronger, improving the level. ”
'That's our goal, to enjoy it with the fans all the time, you are the heart of the team. Come on, Vera! ”
Unai Emery has previously led five teams in the Champions League: Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and Villarreal.