This season, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has once again been the recipient of great appreciation; following his team’s 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United, former Villa player Lee Hendrie praised the Spaniard.
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It was a memorable day for Villa, who deepened Sheffield United’s wounds in the 2023–24 campaign by defeating 5-0 at Bramall Lane and getting back on track.
The Midlands team had a devastating first half, netting four goals by halftime and adding a fifth two minutes into the second half.
Things are looking especially well for Unai Emery’s team, who took fourth place to remind everybody around them of their ascent, thanks to defensive consistency and an assault that looks almost natural.
The Spaniard, who makes about £125,000 a week, has received a lot of acclaim since joining Villa Park in October 2022, and it doesn’t seem like the goodwill will soon run out.
Lee Hendrie praises Unai Emery’s work at Aston Villa
After Villa’s triumph in South Yorkshire, analyst and former Villa player Lee Hendrie waxed poetic about the manager’s initiative in the Midlands in an interview with Sky Sports.
“He’s brought this team’s best members out.” He was replacing Steven Gerrard not too long ago, and the group is very comparable to this one.
“It’s just that their high line play and identity are so daring, and he has a great attacking force in that forward line.”
Things are far better now than when Emery took over for Steven Gerrard, when the team was hovering near the relegation zone and lacked imagination and inventiveness.
The sky’s the limit for Unai Emery and the Aston Villa squad
It is clear from their start to the 2023–24 season that the manager’s first season in the Midlands was not a fluke, as they have made serious progress.
Hendrie praised Emery for giving the team a renewed sense of hope following a stretch of presumably subpar play and encouraged his old team to make more progress in the near future.
“I feel like things are really kind of setting a platform for Villa to go and kick on for next season, that’s how I feel, but I just think that he’s done a brilliant job, he’s made the club believe again.” Finishing in the top five or top four would be fantastic because again, they grow.
The team and manager have shown they can use their depth to their advantage by moving on in both the FA Cup and the Europa Conference League, which raises the possibility that the best is still to come for the Villans and Emery.
