Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says his side “are in the race for the second part of the season” after a 2-2 home draw against 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 enters 2025 in ninth place – but just six points off 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 by it. The table is very tight but we are in the race for the second part of the season.
“We are ninth in the table and we have to try and do it again against Leicester. We finished the first part of the season with 29 points, it’s not the best but not the worst.
“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 match.
Torres injury
Villa lost defender Pau Torres to injury just 20 minutes later, with Emery fearing the Spaniard had broken his foot.
“I think it’s not a serious injury, but I think he may have broken his metatarsal,” Emery said.
“We have players to replace him but he is very important. Tomorrow will confirm his injury.
