Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has called for his team to improve their penalty-taking form after a surprising 2-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League. The loss occurred in Deventer, Netherlands, where Emiliano Buendia missed a crucial late penalty that could have sparked a comeback for Villa.
Villa took an early lead through Evann Guessand but failed to capitalize on several opportunities to extend their advantage. Go Ahead Eagles then rallied, scoring twice to secure a memorable victory. Mathis Suray and Mats Deijl scored on either side of halftime, turning the game around for the Dutch side.
Buendia's penalty miss in the 77th minute was Villa's sixth missed penalty in the last year. Prior to this, Ollie Watkins missed a penalty against Bologna earlier in the season, and the team also lost a penalty shootout to Brentford in the Carabao Cup last month.
Emery addressed the penalty situation, stating, "Today the responsibility was for Emiliano Buendia, and normally he has good numbers shooting penalties, but he missed". He added, "Of course, something can happen, and we will try to get more clinical in the penalty shoot than the last penalties we have had".
The Aston Villa manager clarified the team's penalty takers, mentioning, "Our takers are clear. Buendia was today, (Jadon) Sancho, John McGinn, Morgan (Rogers) as well can shoot penalties". He also suggested that Buendia could take another penalty in the future, but emphasized the need for responsible decision-making regarding penalty takers who are likely to score.
Emery acknowledged the difficulty of playing in Europe, particularly away from home. "And today showed us how difficult it is to play in Europe, to play away," he said. "This is the reason I love football, because football has a lot of different ways to win". He expressed his disappointment and frustration with the result, while also expressing gratitude for the fans who traveled to support the team.
Despite the defeat, Emery remains focused on the future and emphasized the need for a quick recovery. "We keep going forward, thinking about Manchester City at home on Sunday," he stated, referring to their upcoming Premier League match. He acknowledged that the loss had broken their good form, but stressed the importance of reacting quickly and continuing to build the team.
In related news, Emery believed Aston Villa were denied a clear penalty in their recent Premier League match against Liverpool. He said that VAR should have intervened when Pau Torres was pulled down in the box.
