Aston Villa's manager, Unai Emery, has expressed immense pride following his team's impressive 4-2 victory against Celtic, which has secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League. The match, reported by Yahoo! Sport, showcased Morgan Rogers, who delivered a remarkable hat-trick, while Ollie Watkins marked his first goal in Europe’s elite competition. This achievement comes on the heels of Arsenal's unsuccessful attempt to acquire the forward.
With this victory, Villa concluded the league phase of their inaugural Champions League campaign in eighth place, successfully avoiding a potentially daunting play-off round. In the upcoming round, scheduled for March, they will face one of four teams: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, or Club Brugge.
Reflecting on the team's accomplishment, Emery stated, "We are very proud of our work, of our way in the Champions League this year, of our work last year in getting here. There are a lot of strong teams to be favourites to be a contender. It is very important how we are here and how we started in this way. Now we enjoy the way, today was a fantastic day." He further praised the match atmosphere, noting, "The atmosphere was fantastic, it was a very good match. In 90 minutes more or less we played a brilliant match."
Knowing they required a win and favourable results from other matches to avoid the play-offs, Villa commenced the game with great energy, with Rogers scoring twice in the opening five minutes. Celtic, however, responded strongly, with Adam Idah netting two goals before halftime. The decisive moment came when Watkins scored on the hour mark, finally breaking his Champions League scoring drought, followed by Rogers sealing the victory late in the game.
Celtic’s manager, Brendan Rodgers, expressed disappointment at the result, as his side now faces the challenge of competing against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the play-off round, a fate determined by an upcoming draw. Despite the setback, Rodgers remains optimistic about his team's capabilities. "We know it's Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round," he noted. "So that will be obviously a huge challenge for us, but we're building confidence at this level and showing that we're a team that can play and can work well and make it really, really difficult for the top teams."
Rodgers conveyed a sense of pride in his players, stating, "The word that strikes me at the moment is pride. I think that coming to a team that, over the last couple of years has been at the highest level, in the Premier League. Within a few minutes they get the first goal, a quick second goal, then there's a question asked of you as a team, your spirit, your mentality, character, everything about you at this level, but the players continued to play."
As the transfer deadline approaches, Aston Villa finds itself at a crossroads, with key players such as Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran attracting significant interest. Emery has indicated that the club will be "demanding" concerning any potential departures, stating, "I don't want [to sell]. It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad."
Regarding Duran, who has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, Emery reiterated his desire for the player to remain at Villa, saying, "If he is leaving it's because he wants [to]. I told you last week I wanted him here. After the West Ham match I told you I want him here." He elaborated on the club's approach, emphasising the need to maintain their competitive edge while navigating the complexities of the transfer market. "Our objective here is to keep our structure because we want to keep the level high, and maybe we have to sell some players," he added. "But if he does, it'll be good news for us because it's good money."
As Aston Villa looks ahead, the potential for growth and success remains promising, but with the transfer window closing soon, the stakes are high for both players and management alike.