AMAZING ; LILLE MANAGER HAILS TWO ASTON VILLA MEN WITH ONE AMONG ‘THE BEST IN THE WORLD’ DUE ……
It’s certainly a compliment to the job Unai Emery has done at Aston Villa that, ahead of tonight’s Europa Conference League quarter-final, visiting boss Paulo Fonseca sees fit to mention the Midland giants in the same sentence as Paris Saint-Germain.
As concerned, his Lille side have only come up against one team with the talent to match Aston Villa this season. And that is the club boasting Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Marquinhos and co.
With neither Goncalo Ramos nor Randal Kolo Muani living up to their eye-watering price-tags, it is not ridiculous to suggest that Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa’s top scorer and talisman – would probably be a starter at PSG these days.
The England international has a combined 34 goals or assists in 2023/24 after all. And Fonsenca is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his centre-halves – including the very highly-rated Leny Yoro – as they look to limit the influence of a forward who’s pace, movement and ever-improving end-product makes him one of the most complete number nines in Europe at the moment.
Aston Villa host Lille in Conference League
“We could say Villa are the strongest team,” says Fonseca, who nearly took over at Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 and was wanted to replace Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United too (Birmingham Mail).
“Perhaps they are the main candidate to win the competition. We know Villa is a really strong team with a really good coach, but we just need to go out there and play our own game, believe in our abilities to play against this big team.”
“They are a strong team. After PSG they are probably the strongest team. I believe a lot in our centre-backs, but I know (Watkins) is an amazing striker. He is hard to stop and he is in a great moment.
“We have prepared the game so that he won’t get many chances. For me, he is one of the best strikers in Europe at the moment.”
Lille, it must be said, have a number nine in fine form themselves. Jonathan David has 16 goals in his last 19 games after all, and Aston Villa’s defence is weakened by the absence of Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet.
Paulo Fonseca hails Unai Emery influence
“We’ve watched all of Aston Villa’s matches. It’s clear that for us we can see what structures they have in place,” adds Fonseca, full of praise for the impact Emery has made since replacing Steven Gerrard in Birmingham.
“But I think that we have to pay attention to the individual players. They’ve got very good players and tomorrow of course strategies are important and we have prepared the match in order to take on the tactics we have seen Villa put in place, but we have to take into consideration the individual players.”
“For me, Unai is one of the best coaches in the world. He has had an amazing career. What he is doing at Villa is amazing. His team plays very well. He is a coach who I love a lot and he is one of the best coaches in the world, without a doubt.
“Having a coach like Emery is important, but the organisation of the team is also magnificent. He has his team defending well to spring on the counter attack. Defensively, Villa have one of the best structures I have seen this season. After that, they have so much individual quality.”
Emery already has four European trophies on his CV, and could yet add a fifth to his collection.