Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to BBC Match of the Day: “Leeds United, eh? First half, we struggled; they deserved the first half. We weren’t dominating and competing like we did in the second half. Leeds were playing fantastically. Second half, we changed some things. They tired in the second half, and we dominated the ball more. We scored quick and that helped us a lot.
“It was key to equalise the match, and then it continued. We had chances to get the second goal, and we did. Then they had some chances. We are happy because this match was a challenge. I am so, so happy for the players.
“We are trying to set as high a standard as possible. My players were fantastic.
“Every team in the Premier League has great players and coaches. We must be consistent. We must be strong. Tactically, it is very important, and individually we have to show our quality.”
On Morgan Rogers: “He was playing fantastic. Today, scoring his goal was brilliant. I try to get of him his qualities and make him feel comfortable in our structures. On the left, in the middle and as a striker. He is so, so competitive player. Always he accepts everything we are trying to do with him.”
Midfielder Morgan Rogers speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day: “It’s a difficult place to come. They’re really strong at home. They played really well, with a high intensity. We had to dig in, we had to dig deep. Luckily, we managed to find two goals in the second half to win the game, which is the most important thing.”
“Of course, we want to play better with pretty football, but you can’t always do that in the Premier League. Different teams pose different problems. We were really good with grit and determination, and we got the win.”
On Villa’s second-half improvement: “We played a lot quicker with more intensity and tried to hurt them more. In the first half, we didn’t really cause that many problems, but in the second half, we definitely did. We played a lot quicker and a lot more forward.
“That definitely helps, but normally it’s about our heart and our spirit to win. Competing in battles, competing in duels, keep running, keep working. It was a difficult win; they pushed us right to the limit.”
On his goals: “I’m really happy. There have been a few goals I haven’t quite got in other games so it was nice to get on the score sheet. But if I don’t score, it’s okay as long as we get the win.
“The manager’s always banging on at me to get into the box. That’s where the goals are scored. Sometimes I’m hesitant to go in. I went in and just kind of reacted to the ball. I’m lucky I could get a toe on it. I was really happy with that one.
“Straight out of halftime, we had the energy. The crowd was up, and everything was going well. It was a good time to score.”
Did you know?
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Aston Villa have won each of their last six league games that have been played on a Sunday, one more than across their prior 21 combined (D7 L9), whilst it’s also their longest winning run on this day in club history.
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Since his Premier League debut in February 2024, only Cole Palmer (44) and Bukayo Saka (28) have been involved in more goals in the competition aged 23 and under than Aston Villa’s Mogan Rogers (27 – 14 goals, 13 assists), with today the first time he’s scored more than once in a top-flight game.
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