Don’t become complacent to the genius of Unai Emery at Aston Villa… | OneFootball

Take a moment to remind yourself of the genius of Unai Emery at Aston Villa…

Seeing the Villans in the top four is not an unusual sight. They sit in the Champions League places, level on points with Chelsea and only one behind Manchester City after a 1-0 win over Wolves on Sunday.

But the fact we have become so accustomed to Villa being up there should not detract from the job Emery has done.

Only in September, some were suggesting the Spaniard had taken Villa as far as he could. They had a wretched start to the season, taking two points while scoring only one goal in their first five matches, after a fraught summer that only came to life around a panicked deadline day.

Emery criticised his players, accusing some of ‘laziness’, which might have buried managers low on support from the dressing room and boardroom.

But Emery galvanised Villa to win seven of their last eight, soaring up the table back into Champions League contention having played in Europe’s top competition last season.

Not only do they sit in the top four today, but since Emery took over from Steven Gerrard on October 22, 2022, Villa have shown top-four form ever since.

That table is even more remarkable when you consider how Emery found Villa.

When he was appointed to replace Gerrard, Villa were one place above the relegation zone, level on points with the two sides beneath them.