What Unai Said After Disappointing Forest Defeat
Aston Villa lost 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest, undone by a second-half collapse after a first half played largely on their own terms. The game was further soured by a heavy tackle on Ian Maatsen that left Villa playing the final 15 minutes with 10 men. Unai Emery used his post-match press to address the second-half unravelling, making the case that the challenge on Maatsen should have been a red card, and noting the progress of Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye as they continue to get minutes.
“If I was in the VAR and I was a referee, it was a red card.”
– Unai Emery on Ian Maatsen injury
On letting the game slip in the second half
“We played the first half like we planned, we dominate, we didn’t concede so much. We didn’t score, but we were playing in the way we wanted. The second half, completely different. I don’t know why, but we started so poor. They scored and they were creating chances.
“Even offensively we were not controlling the game like we did in the first half. They showed their power to play against us here, creating more chances than normal. Usually we are being compact and not conceding so many chances.
“We corrected it and in that moment maybe we should keep the same way we were, but we couldn’t.”
On the Maatsen tackle and VAR
“And the injury of Ian Maatsen was a key moment because the tackle was strong. And we were finishing the last 15 minutes with one player less for one tackle and they were playing with 11. For me, VAR should be there. I think it’s a red card.
“If I was in the VAR and I was a referee, it was a red card.
“We finished the match in Brighton, two yellow cards for Joao Gomes, and we accepted it. But today, after the injury of Maatsen, and we’re finishing with 10.
“He didn’t want to injure our player but if we can watch it through the TV, it’s a VAR action, and to call the referee and should be a red card, and maybe finishing with 10 v 10 was maybe different in the match.”
On taking responsibility
“But it’s not an excuse how we play the second half. We played so so poor, and this is our work and our responsibility or my responsibility.
“I want to see the match again and to understand why we lost our shape.”
On Manzambi and Mbaye’s minutes
“Manzambi, after a long time, this is the first minutes he’s played, and Mbaye showed us his skill, threatening them on the left side.
“This is their first match and hopefully we can continue progressing with those players, getting minutes.”
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Unai Emery’s quotes are collated from his post-match interviews
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