Unai Emery says Aston Villa’s Champions League meeting with Barcelona is an opportunity to assess how far his team has come and how close it is to Europe’s leading sides. Villa travel to the Nou Camp on Tuesday, aiming to become the first English team to win at the stadium since Liverpool in 2007.
Emery arrived at Villa Park in November 2022 with ambitions of winning a trophy and taking the club into European competition. Villa won the Europa League in May, ending a 30-year wait for a major trophy, and are now challenging in the Champions League.
The manager said Villa wanted to test themselves against Barcelona and understand the distance between the clubs. He noted that Barcelona had six points in the league stage while Villa had nine, adding that his side needed to show its character and make the most of its strengths.
Villa see themselves as capable of joining Europe’s elite after competing with leading clubs in the Premier League and on the continent. Emery has transformed the team since taking over from Steven Gerrard, though the club have also lost players to traditionally bigger sides and seen Ollie Watkins depart for Saudi Arabia.
Emery’s detailed, demanding approach has helped shape Villa’s progress. Barcelona are aware of his ability to prepare for opponents and exploit weaknesses, while coach Hansi Flick praised the structure and attacking patterns of Emery’s team, calling him one of the best coaches in Europe and the world.
The Nou Camp has been a difficult venue for Emery. He has lost 14 of his 15 matches there, and his last Champions League appearance at the stadium ended in Paris St-Germain’s 6-1 defeat to Barcelona after PSG had won the first leg 4-0. Emery said those experiences had taught him valuable lessons, and he described the upcoming match as a major challenge against one of the competition’s favourites.
Sources: BBC Sport.