Aston Villa made it three wins from three in the league phase on Wednesday, moving into second place and extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches. Ross Barkley opened the scoring before Emiliano Buendía converted a penalty, and an own goal from Henrik Heggheim made it 3-0. Peter Christiansen scored a late consolation for the Norwegian visitors.
Speaking to VillaTV, Emery thanked the home support for helping create an atmosphere that lifted his team.
“We are delighted, with the atmosphere here with the supporters, enjoying the way we are doing in the Champions League,” he said.
The Spaniard has guided Villa through European competition in recent seasons, and believes the experience is helping his players adapt to different tactical challenges. He was pleased with the way they approached Viking, balancing defensive organisation with the freedom to use their individual qualities.
“How we are as well tactically trying to get compact, better and better, how we can as well feel we need tactically to respond against the teams and the competition we are facing,” Emery said.
“And then, individually, try to feel comfortable, confident, to exploit their qualities. Today, we watched it.”
Emery also pointed to the energy coming from the stands, describing the relationship between the supporters and the team as an important part of the evening.
“Overall, great atmosphere, great energy here, positive energy with the supporters transmitting us, and we responded on the field with the plan we did for this match – respecting the competition, respecting the opponent.”
Villa now face a difficult stretch in Europe, with away matches against Barcelona and Galatasaray ahead. Emery, however, wants his players to set those fixtures aside and focus first on Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Manchester City.
The win over Viking should provide encouragement, but Emery stressed that there is still work to do as his side continue to develop.
“Those three points are something (that) fills us (with) confidence, comfortable, and of course as well getting balance,” he said.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, so how we are responding, getting better, is really fantastic.”
Villa’s European campaign has started strongly, but Emery’s priority is to maintain that progress against increasingly demanding opponents. For now, he hopes the atmosphere at Villa Park can be repeated when City arrive this weekend.