Unai Emery insists he can win the Champions League with Aston Villa

Unai Emery said he is aiming to win the Champions League with Aston Villa, after the club threatened legal action against Jamie Carragher over comments about the manager’s future. Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Manchester United, Emery said he believes he can achieve his goals by staying at Villa.

The manager said winning trophies is not the preserve of the favourites, citing Aston Villa’s 1982 European Cup triumph and Leicester City’s league title around ten years ago. He also recalled Villarreal reaching the Champions League semi-finals and Borussia Dortmund reaching the final, although neither was among the leading contenders.

Emery said consistency over 38 matches makes the Premier League difficult to compete in, and that his team finished fourth in two seasons after being close to Manchester City and Arsenal in December. He added that Villa won the Europa League last season and that he wants to keep improving and competing for their goals, even if the team are not favourites to win the league or the Champions League.

Carragher had said Aston Villa lagged behind Manchester United in the clubs’ global standing, despite currently outperforming them in results, and that managing United came with higher expectations. His suggestion that Emery might be suited to succeeding Michael Carrick, along with a later message he addressed to Villa fans, prompted a reaction from the club. Carragher then apologised before again defending his opinion.