Unai Emery created history on Tuesday night by becoming the fastest manager in Aston Villa’s history to reach 50 wins, only taking 90 matches.
Villa saw off a scare and beat Wycombe in the League Cup, with goals from Emi Buendia and Jhon Duran from the penalty spot.
When Emery first joined Aston Villa in 2022, they were in a world of mess and Steven Gerrard had left them hovering above the relegation zone.
Yet, fast forward to the present and Villa are now in the Champions League, preparing for a mouth-watering showdown against Bayern Munich next week.
Emery hasn’t just progressed the club to amazing heights – and he is still going – but he has done it by entertaining all four corners of Villa Park.
Here, we take a look at three of Emery’s best wins as Villa manager:
3. Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle United, 15 April 2023
Eddie Howe’s side came to Villa Park on a five-match winning run. They were pushing for Champions League football and would eventually get it.
Added to that, they had just reached and lost the League Cup final to Manchester United, but with Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes, this team were flying, until they were hit with the brick wall of Aston Villa.
From the kick-off, Ollie Watkins hit the post as the team’s energy, link-up play and speed was too hot to handle for Newcastle.
Villa battered their opponents from start to finish, including a brace from Watkins and a goal from Jacob Ramsey. All of this would lead to the team finishing seventh and returning to Europe.
2. Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa, 14 April 2024
There is something about April and Villa getting spectacular wins during this month because they put Arsenal to the sword last season.
Emery beat his former club home and away, but the performance at the Emirates was, without a doubt, the best.
It needs to be noted that Villa were without the suspended Douglas Luiz, whilst Jacob Ramsey and Boubacar Kamara were injured. Yet they still claimed all three points, bossed proceedings in the second half and secured a clean sheet.
Villa came out in that second half, remained calm and dictated play, with Leon Bailey then lurking at the far post to open the scoring, with Villa’s away end going into party mode.
Then Watkins raced through on goal and chipped David Raya like he had a PlayStation controller in hand.
1. Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City, 6 December 2023
That week will be one for the memory books because, within the space of a few days, Villa beat Man City, then Arsenal.
In the end, this played a huge part in Villa finishing fourth and returning to Europe’s elite, but the manner of victory is what was impressive here and why it’s number one.
Pep Guardiola, who had the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden on the pitch, could only muster two shots on target and they came early in the first half.
After that, Villa pressed and simply didn’t allow Man City to enter their penalty area, with even Guardiola admitting after the match that the better team had won.
If Villa can play with this type of energy against Bayern Munich, then you can bet your bottom dollar they are getting something from the match.
Notable mentions: Emery’s first win as Villa manager was against Manchester United and it certainly deserves a mention, including the Midlands side put six goals past Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton and even the recent comeback win over Everton.
Winning at Stamford Bridge on several occasions also deserves a mention and now you are hoping the team can add many more to the list.
