"We are in fourth (at time of writing) position in greatest league in the world.

“Nobody gave us these points for free. They are not a gift fallen from the sky or a late Christmas present.

"We earned it in every match we played.

"We are tying to be consistent. We are fighting. At the beginning they were more contenders than us but now we are in front of them. It is very important for both teams.

"Here at Villa Park with our supporters we will try and connect with full energy and try to play comfortable. We will try to focus on our game plan and respect them.

"At Villa Park it is special and we have a responsibility to connect with them."

Unai Emery pre-match.


"Good afternoon. We have a new goalkeeper, a young goalkeeper. The players with the injuries which they had are recovering, Lucas and Torres. Still out Konsa and Jhon Duran. I think other players will be available for Sunday.

"The day one, the day two, the day 15…the day 24 we are going to face Manchester United and we need to be consistent and concentrate on each match. The message is what we sent when we played against Sheffield Utd, the Premier League in 38 matches is the most consistent summary you can do. At the end of the season you get the first objective of the season.

"I started speaking about our main objective which is to be consistent in the Premier League and getting our objective through it. We are being consistent and being successful in the way overall we are doing.

"But each match is so, so special and they are key moments. The match we played before mattered and the matches we will play after Sunday are going to be very important. We need to use this match against Manchester United to play for six points.

"I forget it because each match has different circumstances. We played, we lost, and we analysed deeply with the players. We are going to play a different match on Sunday against Manchester United. They are recovering very important players, one of them is Casemiro.

"I think they are going to feel stronger and as well concerned about the important game at this moment. We are in front of them and they were - and they are - contenders more than us to get the top five. The reality is that we are being consistent. Even if we lose we will be in front of them, but they are feeling stronger now, confident and good.

"They got a good result last time and my message is to try and get our good performance individually and collectively. We will need our fans on Sunday, playing one game but it is special.

"When I arrived here my first game was against Manchester United and I remember how difficult it was, the expectation of the match. Sunday is the same. I am now trying to understand the match we are going to play on Sunday.

"It is a new challenge, a new challenge for us and for our supporters. We all have to use our positive energy - each individual fan has to support us with their energy. We have to connect with them being demanding and successful, being demanding on the pitch.

"It is going to be a difficult match because they need to get points against us. They are facing us trying to get to us in the table, being closer to us. We are thinking of course there is 38 matches, but this match is for six points. This is a special, key match. We want to create a great atmosphere with our supporters.

"Yes, I am confident. We need to believe in our way and how we face the Premier League each match. Being consistent, sometimes we are not getting good performances, but overall we are doing. Sunday, I am optimistic.

"My analysis of them is to understand their game plan and their qualities, trying to stop them from the goalkeeper because his build-up is fantastic. They try to get good combinations, Luke Shaw is very dangerous and [Diogo] Dalot is in a good moment. They are recovering with Casemiro, who is very important for them. Their wingers are very good and they have a good striker."

Unai Emery pre-match.


"We deserved more. We planned the match [around] how we could feel strong and try to have control of the game and how we could win, and I think we did that. We weren't clinical today. Their goalkeeper made some very good saves and they were clinical.

"We have to reset, we are frustrated but we have to be positive. Manchester United are more of a contender to be where we are than us, and we have a gap to them. We have to be strong in the mind, not lose our focus, and focus on how we are trying to build the team and be stronger. The performance today was how we are trying to build.

"We are now fifth in the table - now is the moment to remind us of that. If we play like tonight, we have to be positive and try to recover our way in the next few days for the game against Fulham.

"We lost to a very good opponent today but we have created a distance from them and our challenge is to try and be consistent between now and the end of the season.

“[Jacob Ramsey] played a very good match. He had some chances to score a goal and maybe that is the next step that he has to do. We need him and we are very happy that he played 90 minutes today.

"I was wishing we would score one goal through him but we are hoping for [that in] the next match."

Unai Emery post match.


"It was a completely different performance [to their FA Cup defeat by Chelsea in midweek], a real sickener. We did more than enough to win the game. It felt like we had chance after chance in the second half and they just didn't go in.

"In this league, you've got world-class players in the [Manchester] United changing room and it was one moment of sheer quality. We could've maybe defended it a bit better but I know unfortunately that Scotty [McTominay] is great at coming in at that stage.

"We've got to remember how far we have come as a team and as a club. It's my job to make sure we stick together. We've come a long way. We're still in a great position to achieve something special. If we play like that today, we will win more games than we lose.

"I could feel us winning it [in the second half]. We had chances on the break, they were breaking but not creating chances. They had moments of quality, we were getting into great positions, we stuck to the game plan.

"Our supporters were getting a bit frustrated but I think they wanted us to be up and at them. I think on another day we win this game.

"We're at a big club, the fans are expecting. We are expecting that. It's my job to keep the team together. We don't want to blame everyone. These things happen in a season. We've had huge injuries throughout the season, it's gone under the radar and the manager doesn't make excuses.

"We can still achieve something special this season and today was a massive step towards that."

John McGinn.


"We did everything we planned.

"We controlled the game and we avoided the transitions and we didn't concede a lot of chances.

"We created chances but we couldn't score some clear chances. I am very proud of our work and of the players. We are playing against the mighty Manchester United but we are being more consistent in matches in the league. The result is tough for us and difficult to accept but that is football. We played like we planned and we deserved more.

"We created chances and sometimes we are being clinical and sometimes we aren't, like today. But these are the ideas that we wanted.

"We created through our identity and our style. Sometimes we will be clinical and sometimes we won't be. We wanted to have control of the game and avoid transitions. That was the first idea we had and we did."

Unai Emery.


"Aston Villa can confirm Boubacar Kamara has suffered a significant knee ligament injury. The midfielder sustained the damage during yesterday’s fixture with Manchester United and has subsequently undergone a scan this morning [Monday]. Kamara’s condition will be reviewed ahead of a further consultation with a knee specialist."

Villa statement.