Unai Emery interviewed after Aston Villa draw 4-4 with Manchester United
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery faced questions following his side’s 4-4 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford in a Premier League match on Sunday, after Villa surrendered two separate two-goal leads.
The match finished with a late equaliser that allowed Michael Carrick’s Manchester United to salvage a point, and Emery’s post-match exchange with Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davison became one of the most widely discussed moments of the evening. Villa conceded a 97th-minute equaliser through Patrick Dorgu, and cameras captured Emery walking down the tunnel before the referee had blown the final whistle. When Davison asked whether Emery’s decision to leave the touchline was an emotional reaction to United’s late goal being allowed to stand, the Villa manager responded: "No emotion. They scored in minute 96 and there were six minutes added. I [thought] the match was finishing,".
The interview grew strained as Davison probed whether Emery believed the equaliser should have been disallowed; Emery replied, "No, no. Not unfair. Please," before outlining the sequence that led to his departure from the touchline. He said: "They scored the goal in minute 96. You were making the question [about why] I left before. Because the minute 96 and 30 seconds, was when we started the kick-off." Emery then said, "My English is so poor, but it's clear or not?" and, after further prompting, asked, "Ok. Thank you, thank you very much. More questions?" before ending the interview with, "Have a good Sunday."
The scoring began in the opening phase when Alysson and Nicolas Jackson struck twice inside the opening five minutes to give Villa an early advantage. Manchester United replied through a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a goal from Youri Tielemans to level the game before half-time.
Villa regained a two-goal lead after the interval when Diogo Dalot conceded a penalty for fouling Alysson and John McGinn converted in the 48th minute. Leon Goretzka then added Villa’s fourth five minutes later following another lapse in United’s defending.
United mounted a late comeback as Joshua Zirkzee pulled a goal back in stoppage time and Dorgu completed the turnaround with a header from a corner. Villa have questioned the legitimacy of the equaliser, with Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens accused of impeding Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki as Suzuki attempted to deal with the delivery; Suzuki failed to make clean contact with the ball, allowing Dorgu to head home. Emery, when asked after the game, refused to label the decision unfair.
For Carrick the result provided some encouragement after a difficult run, and he pointed to recent resilience in saying: "I thought we were the better team. We played some very good football and got back into the game. Two goals again put us on the back foot. In the end, we could have even won it," adding, "We never gave up and never stopped believing." The draw left Manchester United 18th with eight points from 10 matches, above Sunderland only on goal difference, as both teams headed into the international break.
