Unai Emery said his Aston Villa side should be "proud" of their win over Fulham on Tuesday night after a 1-0 victory at Villa Park moved the club up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Defender Tyrone Mings scored the only goal of the game in the 21st minute during a first half the hosts completely dominated. Fulham improved after the break but were unable to break down a resolute Villa defence as the hosts continued their remarkable revival under Emery.
Sat 15th in the table when the Spaniard took charge of his first game at the start of November, Villa have since won 12 of 19 games to surge into Europa League contention. Villa are fifth in the standings, one point ahead of sixth-placed Tottenham, whose game in hand is against Manchester United on Thursday, and four clear of Liverpool in seventh, albeit having played two matches more.
“I’m very happy to enjoy the moment with our supporters here at home,” Emery said. “I remember when we had home matches against Leicester and Arsenal and we conceded four goals in each match. It was a very upsetting moment.
“We came back trying to be strong defensively and we won 1-0 against Crystal Palace, 3-0 Bournemouth, 2-0 Nottingham, 3-0 Newcastle and today as well, 1-0. Five very good victories with clean sheets, it’s really amazing.
“We were trying to achieve our style being consistent, and I think in the first half today we played very well. In the second half, we were more brilliant defensively because we didn’t control the game like we did in the first half.
“We were feeling strong in our mind and trying to play each moment like the match was demanding. They were in front of us two months ago and we’ve come back at them.
“For the next matches, trying to keep our opportunity to get a European position, it’s a very good victory today.”
Emery reserved special praise for match-winner Mings, who scored his first goal since November 2021, and called on the England international and his fellow defenders to contribute more goals to the team.
“I was demanding him to use his potential in the set pieces," he said. “Today it was important to add different options to score for the team and the centre-backs as well. I want centre-backs trying to score goals, and he did it.
“We can be proud of our work, proud of our victory. We tried to connect and transmit to our supporters our desire to be strong here.
“We are being positive and realistic; we can have more chances in the next matches.”
Fulham had been in a similar position to Villa earlier in the season and were chasing a European spot after a fine return to the Premier League. But a recent dip in form, comprising five defeats in their past seven matches, has seen the London club move closer to mid-table in ninth, although their primary target of avoiding relegation has been comfortably achieved.
“It was two different halves if I can say that,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said. “The first half was not good enough.
“The first half was clearly not our level, the standards were not at the level we normally play. We had a lack of desire and will to match the opposition side.
“In the second half, even though we didn’t create enough chances to equalise the game at least we were completely different.
“I saw a reaction in the second half but it is clear we have to improve what we did in the first half. “
