Unai Emery watched on as Aston Villa battled to a 3-3 draw against Newcastle United on Sunday.
Aston Villa took on Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly on Sunday, facing off inside Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, as part of the Premier League Summer Series. An Ollie Watkins strike, and a brace from Emiliano Buendia, was enough for Unai Emery’s side to earn a draw.
Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans got their first minutes on the pitch as Villa players, and Emery also gave out minutes to some of the club’s most promising youngsters, including Sebastian Revan, Omari Kellyman, and Aaron Ramsey.
The Villans’ Summer Series experience is set to continue against Fulham at the Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday evening.
Emery’s verdict on friendly
Emery has shared his thoughts on Villa’s performance against Newcastle. As quoted by the club’s official website, the boss said: “everything we were practicing here, I think we did on the pitch in 90 minutes and we shared playing with experienced players and young players…the result is secondary for us. But to score three goals, of course, is one thing we are going to analyse, why.”
If Emery and his staff can identify certain attacking patterns and systems that are already working for his side, that bodes well for the start of the Premier League campaign.
Looking ahead to the clash with Fulham, the Spanish coach continued, “we are going to prepare quickly for the match on Wednesday…We are going to continue in our way, our work and the plan we are doing, and adding some different players as well.”
The Fulham match could mark new signing Moussa Diaby’s bow in an Aston Villa kit.
