Unai Emery has expressed his frustration with Aston Villa's finishing after they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Fulham, missing the opportunity to strengthen their bid for Champions League qualification.
Match Summary
Ryan Sessegnon's goal in the 42nd minute proved decisive at Craven Cottage. Despite the loss, Emery insisted he was more dissatisfied with the result than the performance, pointing to four clear-cut chances that went begging.
Missed Opportunities
The Villa manager highlighted chances missed by Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, and Tammy Abraham. "Those four chances in 90 minutes is something we can think through, being clinical," Emery said. "We weren't clinical. We must continue working and practicing and trying to work out how we can score, getting the chances we had."
Rogers and Watkins both narrowly missed the target in the first half before Sessegnon opened the scoring. After the break, Watkins fired over from inside the box, and Abraham skied another good chance shortly after coming off the bench.
Emery's Concerns
"My worry is how we can improve things," Emery added. "Today, we did not work well when we were in a position to score. In Nottingham two weeks ago, Ollie Watkins had the same chance and again to repeat. Being responsible myself, it is to practice and correct it."
Despite the defeat, Villa remain in a strong position to finish in the top five, potentially ending the weekend seven points clear of sixth place. However, their poor away form in the Premier League—now without a win in five matches—is a concern ahead of Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg at Nottingham Forest.
"I am not happy because we lost but not with the performance," Emery concluded. "It's going to be very difficult. My message is the same - keep going, keep trying to get better each week."
