Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is quickly turning his attention to the UEFA Champions League following their 1-0 Premier League win over Southampton. (More Football News)
Jhon Duran's first-half goal sealed successive league victories for Emery on the back of three straight top-flig꧑ht losses against rivals 🦂Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.
Victoryಞ against the Saints is a vital boost for Emery ahead of a crucial few weeks of action before the end of 2024.
Villa head to RB Leipzig on 10 December, looking to push their case for a spot in the Round of 16, followed by four more league clashes t❀his month.
The immediate focus for Emery is on Leipzig, with Villa's contrasti🔯ng European form a cause for concern, despite a brilliant start on their Champions League debut.
Three straight wins in their first appearance in the competition since it was renamed – including an historic 1-0 home victory over Bayern Munich – put Villa in a strong position, but dꦏefeat to Club Brugge and a 0-0 tie with Ju🐎ventus has stalled their momentum.
The former Arsena🦂l chief wants this result to act as a platform f🐬or his team ahead of their tricky trip to Germany in midweek.
"Over the 90 minute❀s we had chances to score more, but sometimes they dominated posses🐷sion. We managed the game plan to try and find a way to win," as per quotes from BBC Sport.
"The most important thing is how we're progress💃ively getting more comfortable on the field. We had to use substitutions because we have the Champions League on Tuesday. Three matc🎉hes in nine days. We have to be ready with the players we have available to try and enjoy the competition.
"The Champions League is something we have to enjoy, but we also focus on the difficulties in൩ the Premier League, and the challenge against Nottingham Forest is so🍬mething else. But, we have to try and get to the next round of the Champions League."
Up next for Villa is that Midlands derby with Forest, followed by a crunch clash at home to Manchester Ci🥂ty on 21 December🌜.
A win for Villa puts them up to fifth in the table, but defeat for Southampton registers as their 12th league l♛oss of the campaign so far, with Russell Martin's team still rooted to𝓰 the foot of the table.
Individual mistakes are becoming a theme, a💝nd centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis was robbed by Duran for Villa's winner, with Martin left to rue a familiar frustrating story for his team.
"We gave away a poor goal when it was a good, tight game. We changed shape and then the game became transitional. They were try♏ing to find another goal, so it became very open," he said.
"We're two v one, and we had a chance to clear the ball, and we don't. It's another mistake. We forced them long, and t💞hen we had another two v one, and he [Duran] somehow comes out with the ball and scores."
Up next for Southampton 💙is a hom♒e tie with Tottenham next weekend, followed by an EFL Cup quarter-final at home to Liverpool on December 18.
