NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) – Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expressed his disappointment with his team’s 5-1 loss to Newcastle United, particularly the injury sustained by key defender Tyrone Mings during the match.
Mings suffered the injury after an apparently innocuous challenge with Newcastle forward Alexander Isak. Following a lengthy break for treatment, Mings was eventually stretchered off the pitch in the 31st minute and taken to a local hospital.
This setback comes shortly after Aston Villa lost Emiliano Buendia to a serious knee injury, which could keep him out for up to eight months.
“It doesn’t look good. He is injured. This week has been very tough. We lost Emi Buendia and today we lost Tyrone Mings, two important players in the squad,” Emery shared in an interview with the BBC.
“Everything this week is not working well, but we are going to react. I want to remain positive with the players we have, and I believe we can change the situation,” he added.
Villa’s defense crumbled after Mings left the field, allowing Newcastle to score four goals in the second half and secure a victory that propelled them to the top of the league standings, much to the delight of their coach, Eddie Howe.
“We’re very pleased. It was a tough game, as Aston Villa is a very strong team. We knew we had to perform at our best. We managed to score five goals, and although we had opportunities for more, Aston Villa posed a challenge throughout the game,” Howe acknowledged in an interview with the BBC.
“Our efficiency in front of goal was decisive in this tightly contested match. Everything fell into place for us today… Now we are preparing to face Manchester City, which is the most difficult place to play. We need to embrace the challenge, and then shift our focus to Liverpool,” he concluded.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Credit: The Star : Sport Feed
