Emery targeting Champions League return after Villa made him proud

Villa went 2-0 down early on at Villa Park on Tuesday before racing into the lead with 33 minutes left on the clock and providing their visitors with an onslaught for the remainder of the game.

They weren't able to get the all-important goal to level the tie, though Ezri Konsa and Ian Maatsen both had big chances late on. Despite that, Emery was able to have some perspective on the game.

"I am very proud of everything," he said, while speaking to Amazon Prime after the match.

"Getting to this level is the next step forward, I want to try to win with Aston Villa. We played two legs, we competed well and it wasn't even. Today we competed better and we were close to the result.

"I want to try to work for my next process at Aston Villa. The crowd was fantastic, they gave us energy. Even at 2-0. Still, a little bit more to do better to try to get it.

"It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League. The challenge we have for the last six matches is to try and get Europe and the Champions League.

Konsa scored the goal to get Villa in the lead on the night after good work from Marcus Rashford and could have levelled it on aggregate late on after missing a header.

The England international shared his manager's pride, though his disappointment at not getting over the line was palpable during a post-match interview with Amazon Prime.

Unbeaten at Villa Park throughout our Champions League campaign.We couldn't have done it without you, Villans 🫶 pic.twitter.com/rmJYoUaJJo

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 15, 2025

"Very proud of the boys and what we did tonight. The two goals at the start killed us but we showed great belief and character to get back into it. We won the second leg but it wasn't enough," he said.

"At half-time we felt we had nothing to lose. We wanted to go out there and prove a point. We had chances, I think I scored the hardest one. I don't think we could have done any more. I missed the ball [for a header], it happens.

"He [Gianluigi Donnarumma] made some excellent saves. We showed tonight we can compete at the highest level and we want to do it again next season."

Similarly, Aston Villa captain John McGinn was open about his disappointment but concurred with Konsa and Emery about how well they had done in the tie.

"Obvious disappointment but I am proud of my team-mates, proud of the club," he told TNT Sports.

"We have come a long way. We were so, so close tonight. We just fell a little bit short. We had chances to take the game to extra-time but we've got to be proud about the way we come back against one of the best teams in the world, to fight to the end.