'A step forward' - Unai Emery hails Aston Villa's latest Champions League win

Unai Emery believes Villa’s rebuild took another step forward with Wednesday’s Champions League win over Viking.

Goals from Ross Barkley, Emi Buendia and an own goal from Henrik Heggheim, forced by the excellent Alysson, saw Emery’s men maintain their perfect start to this season’s competition.

Villa, who have now won 20 out of 22 home European matches under Emery, became the second fastest team to reach 20 wins in the history of the European Cup and Champions League.

“We are approaching each match as an objective to get better and to be consistent in Europe and in the league,” he said.

“We are trying to be very demanding in how we are preparing and responding on the field.

“We must feel strong and confident to do our best. There is still work to do. We played a very good match.

“We followed the plan we set out. Individually, we exploited our qualities. I think we did a good job, and some players took a step forward with their confidence, feeling better and understanding everything tactically.”

Barkley headed Villa in front from an Ibrahim Mbaye corner midway through the first half, before Alysson won the penalty which Emi Buendia converted to double the lead.

Alysson, making just his second start since a £10million January move from Gremio, regularly terrorised the visiting defence and the result was put beyond doubt when Heggheim deflected his low cross into his own net.

The only blot of the evening from Villa’s perspective was Peter Christiansen’s late consolation for the visitors, which kept them off the top of the Champions League table.

Asked about the performances of Alysson and Mbaye, Emery replied: “They are exploiting their quality.

“We have to feel strong in our structure and understand how we want to play and how we can feel strong.

“We are trying to be at the highest level possible. Today they improved and are getting more confident. It was a step forward for both players.”