‘Better than us’… Unai Emery one area where Newcastle United really impressed him last night

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Unai Emery has now shared what left him most frustrated about Aston Villa’s defeat to Newcastle United last night.

Villa came into the game the much better side with a 14-point advantage over Newcastle in the Premier League, but it was the visitors who stamped their authority on the game in the first half.

In an interview after the game, Emery claimed that it was Newcastle’s set-pieces which had hurt his team so badly after Newcastle capitalised on two corners to take the lead through Fabian Schar.

Emery ‘frustrated’ with Newcastle’s biggest strength

Newcastle have been very good at set pieces so far this season with only six teams scoring more goals in the league from them, and yesterday was no different.

It’s something that you would expect given the height of this Newcastle team and the fact they have someone as good as Kieran Trippier to keep whipping balls into the box – it’s the perfect recipe.

There was not much Emery could do about it, he simply admitted that Newcastle were better than his side at set pieces on the night and ultimately that had cost them the three points and their impressive home record.

The Spanish manager has done such a good job with Villa to get them in a Champions League spot so this is just a bit of a reality check, but for Newcastle it’s a huge win and a step in the right direction.

In the interview, Emery said: “I’m a little bit frustrated and a little bit disappointed but very proud of the way we did.

“The loss has to come one day and Newcastle deserved it overall. In the first 60 minutes they were better than us; strong in set pieces and we conceded two goals.”

Newcastle need to take this form into the rest of the season

Newcastle and Eddie Howe don’t have very long to celebrate this key victory as their attention will quickly turn to their next game against Luton on Saturday who will be full of confidence after a 4-0 win over Brighton.

They were beaten by the Hatters the last time these two teams faced each other but Howe will be hoping that this is a different Newcastle side with a changed mentality and the backing of the St James’ Park crowd.

Another three points would be massive in their bid for European football and if they can perform like they did against Villa, the best home team in the league, then they’ve every chance of winning this game.