Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says his side are “in the race for the second half of the season” after a 2-2 draw at home to Brighton.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead, but a fine low shot from Tariq Lamptey secured a point for the Seagulls.
That means Villa go into 2025 in ninth place – but just six points behind the top four.
Your support has been sensational throughout 2024, thank you Villans 💜 pic.twitter.com/QW6oXZJHAU
– Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 30, 2024
Emery said: “I have to accept the result but I’m a bit frustrated about it. The table is very tight, but we are in the race for the second half of the season.
“We are ninth in the table and have to try to get back into the starting eleven against Leicester. We end the first part of the season with 29 points, it’s not the best, but not the worst either.
“This league is very tight and we have to try to improve and correct why we are conceding a lot of goals. We started the second half perfectly, scoring goals and creating chances. We created enough chances to score and win the game.”
Torres injury
Villa lost defender Pau Torres to injury after just 20 minutes and Emery feared the Spaniard may have broken his foot.
“I don’t think it’s a major injury, but I think he may have broken his metatarsal bone,” Emery said.
“We have players who can replace him, but he is very important. His injury will be confirmed tomorrow.”
