Serial Europa League winner Unai Emery may not get the chance to flaunt his excellence in the continent’s second-tier competition next year, but the former Arsenal and Villarreal boss is on the cusp of leading Aston Villa to the unlikeliest of seventh-placed finishes.
Emery’s time at the Emirates may be best consigned to the history books, but the Spaniard is a strong contender for the Manager of the Year prize after overseeing a spectacular rise from the ashes for the Lions, who came oh so close to leaving Anfield with a maximum last weekend.
After watching his teammate sent a penalty wide, Jacob Ramsey spared Ollie Watkins’s blushes with a fine finish from a tight angle to open the scoring, but departing Liverpool striker Robertoq Firmino signed off on Merseyside with a late leveller to force a share of the spoils.
Despite now boasting just one win from their last four games, Villa are sitting pretty in seventh place qin the table – one point clear of Tottenham Hotspur and two better off than Brentford – and they will qualify for the 2023-24 Europa Conference League with all three points in front of the home faithful.
Amid a spate of continuous shortcomings on the road, home is where the heart is for Emery’s side; the Lions have won each of their last six contests at Villa Park – only conceding to a Harry Kane penalty – but while they will be forced to wait to book their flights and hotels across Europe, Brighton’s itinerary is already being filled
A goal fit for European competition flew into the back of Stefan Ortega’s net on Wednesday evening, as Roberto De Zerbi’s soaring Seagulls halted the Manchester City title parade to spark their own celebrations in a hard-earned 1-1 draw with the champions.
Pep qGuardiola’s rotated side broke the deadlock in the first half through Phil Foden, but a Julio Encisothunderbolt restored parity for Brighton and guaranteed the South-coast side a spot in the Europa League next term, just reward for the magnificent feats of their playing and non-playing staff
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Whether sixth-placed Brighton can hang onto the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo for their continental adventures remains to be seen, but Seagulls fans can be sure that any high-profile departures will be adequately replaced with the money that comes in, and keeping hold of the revered De Zerbi amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur would be no mean feat either.
Inconsistency has been the theme for Brighton away from home, though, as they have followed a sequence of winning one then losing one on their travels in their last six games – going down 4-1 to Newcastle United only a few days after humbling Arsenal 3-0 – but only Brentford have prevented De Zerbi’s men from scoring on the road this term.
Furthermore, Brighton have only beaten Villa once in their seven Premier League meetings – losing each of their last three to the Lions – and such a pattern continuing in the West Midlands would see the Seagulls welcome their hosts into the exclusive European club.
