Emery: Villa's 2-2 draw with Brentford felt like two points dropped

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery admitted his side dropped two points after being held to a 2-2 home draw by Brentford on Saturday, with the Bees equalising just two minutes after John McGinn's 77th-minute strike appeared to have sealed victory.

Emery conceded the result was fair on the balance of play but expressed frustration at the number of chances Villa gave away. "Tough match," the Spaniard said in a post-match interview with VillaTV. "They came here feeling comfortable and confident how they are playing, and we competed. To draw at home is not a good result, but more or less I think the result is fair in 90 minutes."

The Villa head coach acknowledged his side created enough to win but surrendered more chances than he was comfortable with. "We created chances to score, we created chances to win, but we conceded more than usually I want," he said.

Emery pointed to the continued development of younger and returning players as a positive, singling out Johan Manzambi, who made his second consecutive start. "Especially the young or the new players, especially some players who were injured and coming back, like Manzambi — it's his second match playing in the starting 11."

Attention at Villa Park now turns to Wednesday's UEFA Champions League fixture against Fenerbahçe, which offers the club an opportunity to secure their first home win of the season. Emery urged his squad to remain focused and motivated. "Keep playing in those improvements, and be positive, and of course be excited and motivated for the next competition — it's Champions League on Wednesday."

"Tomorrow, rest, and on Monday, again coming back and focusing on the match against Fenerbahçe," he added.