Premier League rival’s brutal Man Utd reply shows size of Ruben Amorim task

Unai Emery watched his Aston Villa side keep their hopes of securing a Champions League berth, but did not get a favour from Manchester United

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery joked that he expected Manchester United to be beaten by Chelsea on Friday night. Marc Cucurella netted the decisive goal for the Blues late in the second half, heading past Andre Onana and handing United their 18th Premier League loss of the season.

United thought they had taken the lead when Harry Maguire found the back of the net from a Bruno Fernandes cross, but VAR ruled it out for offside. The match ended 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea taking a significant step towards securing Champions League qualification for next season.

Villa are another of the teams in the race to secure a top-five finish, which will see them return to Europe’s top competition. And had Amorim’s side got a result in West London, Villa’s destiny would have been in their own hands.

Emery hinted that he hadn’t held out too much hope of that happening, though, with Villa now needing results to go in their favour on the final day.

“How’s it going with Chelsea? ,” he asked. “Finished 1-0, okay we expected it” he said, followed by a cheeky grin and a laugh.

READ MORE: Two Man Utd stars pointed the blame at same player during Chelsea defeatREAD MORE: Why are no Premier League matches being played today? FA Cup agreement explained

Emery added: “It’s not in our hands. We are winning. But other teams are as well, they are being demanding, and they are getting their points.”

As for United, they can, somehow, still earn a place in the Champions League, despite being on for their worst domestic finish in more than 50 years. Defeat against Chelsea leaves them in 16th place in the table, but winning the Europa League final vs Spurs would see them return to Europe’s elite.

Amorim is not sure that would be beneficial for United’s long-term success though, with a huge overhaul of the playing staff required to compete.

Asked if Champions League qualification could hinder his project, he said: “That is my feeling. We need more time with the team. We need to arrange a lot of things in Carrington that we need more time to do, so we’re not thinking game by game by game.

“Then we have the squad. We proved this year that we need to be a better squad if we want to win European games and then be really competitive in the Premier League. That is going to be tough. My feeling is that.”

Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.