Unai Emery ‘frustrated’ by Aston Villa display against ten-man Ipswich

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·15 February 2025

Unai Emery ‘frustrated’ by Aston Villa display against ten-man Ipswich

Unai Emery was left deeply “frustrated” by his Aston Villa players on Saturday, accusing them of failing to follow his instructions as they drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys were reduced to ten men in the first half after Axel Tuanzebe was sent off for two bookable offences, but took the lead at Villa Park when Liam Delap turned hom Omari Hutchinson’s low cross in the 56th minute.

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The Villans equalised through Ollie Watkins but couldn’t find the winner, dealing a huge blow to the club’s hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League again.

Emery ‘frustrated’ by Aston Villa display in Ipswich draw

“I was frustrated because we lacked how we wanted to play and how we try to dominate, how we try to impose our plan,” Emery told Sky Sports. “We were sometimes playing with the crowd – supporting us of course, but not under the control that I want.

“I was trying to tell the players: please try to dominate the game, get good positioning, go higher, try to do passes and we are going to open spaces, trying to get into the box and getting chances. We were great doing it, we had chances to draw and win the match even.

“But my frustration is we were not doing what I usually want. Usually, we are building the team here with this style. They followed the instructions, but they were a little bit hurried in some actions.

“We played and deserved to win. We played like we are building a team and we keep going.”

Watkins felt Villa had done enough to win the game after taking 25 shots to Ipswich’s four. “Really disappointing,” he said after the final whistle.

“We created a lot of chances and good chances to win the game. The keeper had an outstanding performance, some unbelievable saves. I think we had enough to come away with three points, so it’s disappointing.

“It’s difficult to break ten men down when they’re doing all they can to make it hard for you. We had to be patient, we didn’t have that final clinical edge. We should be coming away with three points here.”

The England striker praised Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford after his free-kick crashed off the bar before falling to Watkins for the equaliser.

“Unbelievable free-kick and I just followed it in,” he said. “Their CV speaks for itself. It’s great we can bring talent like that off the bench. Everyone is important in the squad, we’re going to need that in the last few games and the Champions League.”

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