Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino has opened up about Unai Emery and has highly praised the Aston Villa manager ahead of their FA Cup clash.
The transformation of Aston Villa over the past season or so has been nothing short of superb under Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has taken the Villans away from a relegation scrap. Now a hunt for a Champions League place this season is very realistic.
In this campaign, there have been plenty of excellent talking points which have boosted Villa’s profile. From early season wins over Brighton to statement victories like the ones over Manchester City and Arsenal.
One of the best moments was a win that came against an opposition they would have hoped for a win over.
Earlier in the month, Villa travelled to face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round. They managed to get their first cup win since 2016. This win came eight years after the last and as a result, a clash against Chelsea awaits them.
Pochettino full of praise for Emery
This season has already seen Aston Villa take a victory over the Blues as Ollie Watkins scored his first of the season.
The game switched on a red card for Malo Gusto which allowed the Villans to dominate for the remaining 32 minutes. Now the two shall meet at Stamford Bridge once again as they were drawn against each other in the cup.
Coming into the game Mauricio Pochettino has been discussing the Villans and VillaReport have revealed his praise for Emery.
On that, he said: “They (Aston Villa) haven’t surprised me. First of all, I think Unai Emery is one of the best coaches in the world. He is creating & building a very good organisation at Aston Villa. They have amazing players. I’m so happy for him & the people involved in this project.”
Ironically, rumours suggested that Pochetinno was one of Villa’s key managerial targets after Steven Gerrard’s sacking.
Given the impact that Emery has had and how Chelsea have been doing, Villa fans can be happy with what they have now.
It is great to hear this kind of praise from a rival coach about the Villa manager. If fans needed any further reason to be positive about Emery, they have now gotten it.
The Villans will still fancy themselves and hope to progress further in the FA Cup with a win over the Blues this week.
