CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TICKETS ARE CALLING AGAIN
Aston Villa moved up to fifth in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Tottenham on Friday night. Unai Emery's side are now on 66 points, the same as Chelsea, and are only behind the London side on goal difference.
The dream of qualifying for the Champions League next season is still alive and if successful, this will be the second year in a row that Aston Villa has broken the familiar order established by the Big 6 of the Premier League. Even now, 2 of those 6 giants, Tottenham and Man United, are just small bright spots in Aston Villa 's rearview mirror . Tottenham is currently ranked 4th from... bottom while Man United is better, standing just 1 place above Spurs.
Aston Villa's squad value is only 8th in the Premier League, 200 million euros less than Tottenham - the opponent they just defeated. Aston Villa's wage bill is very modest compared to Man City (only about half) or Man United (about 130 million euros less). But more importantly, that wage bill still accounts for 63% of the revenue of this "average" team. That means Aston Villa has to work hard to arrange finances to support the team.
All of Aston Villa's shortcomings inadvertently further illustrate the impressive results that coach Unai Emery has brought to the team, especially when looking at Aston Villa's final sprint of the season.
More than 2 months ago, in early February to be exact, they were 4 points behind the Top 5 and were struggling with a streak of 5 consecutive matches without a win (4 draws, 1 loss from 18/1 to 19/2) in the Premier League. But now, the 2-0 victory over Tottenham is the 8th win in the last 9 appearances of Aston Villa in this playground. And thanks to defeating Spurs, Emery's team also had their 21st consecutive match unbeaten at home in all competitions.
Maintaining that form for the final match, Aston Villa can still dream of a ticket to the Champions League for the second consecutive season. And as fate would have it, after defeating Tottenham, Emery and his team will have to continue to defeat another representative of the Big Six, Man United, in round 38, in hopes of snatching a ticket to the most prestigious playground in Europe next season.
The two teams drew 0-0 at Villa Park in the first leg this season. The return leg at Old Trafford will certainly be more difficult. But Unai Emery is not feeling the pressure.
“I told the players we have to enjoy the process, enjoy playing football. It’s not just about the end result, it’s about how we perform and sometimes how we struggle. Those experiences can help us in the future,” said the Aston Villa manager.
EMERY'S "CUTTING RICE WITH FISH SAUCE" DOCUMENT
Emery’s message is clear. Qualifying for the Champions League for the second season in a row is “very, very difficult” – but Villa is not just aiming for that, he wants to see a progression that continues into next season. He is proud not only of his team’s recent form, but also of an Aston Villa that is on the rise, a squad that is being strengthened.
Of course, that rise hasn’t come easy. Aston Villa’s campaign this season has been rocky as they’ve progressed deep into the Champions League: they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by PSG after two dramatic ties. They reached Wembley in the FA Cup, only to be beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace. But Emery’s side have found a way to maintain their momentum in the Premier League.
To achieve that, we must first mention the ability of coach Emery to "cut rice according to cloth" through contracts that helped turn the season around. Aston Villa entered 2025 in 9th place in the Premier League table after only 8 wins, 5 draws and 6 losses. Their form at that time was also terrible, with only 3 wins in 10 matches since the beginning of November. However, the additions in the winter transfer window brought new motivation.
Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen have arrived on permanent deals, while Aston Villa's loan signings, notably Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi, are all quality players, giving Emery plenty of tactical options. Of course, the form of these new signings has been crucial in helping Aston Villa get back on track.
The trio of Rashford, Malen and Asensio have been involved in 17 goals since joining Villa Park. Meanwhile, in the last 6 Premier League matches that Disasi has played (whether playing right-back or centre-back), Aston Villa have lost just once. The rest, they have won 3, drawn 2 and kept 2 clean sheets.
The positive energy from the new recruits has helped Aston Villa progress is completely quantifiable. Statistics show that no team has achieved a higher average point per game than Aston Villa since the winter transfer window closed until round 36 of the 2024/25 Premier League. Emery's army earned 2.17 points/game, relatively higher than... champions Liverpool (2.08 points/game) and far superior to the points of giants like Man United (0.83 points/game) or Tottenham (0.92 points/game).