Emery assesses Brighton defeat

FixturesBrighton and Hove Albion Vs. Aston Villa - Sun, Aug 23 2026, 14:00Unai Emery admitted his Aston Villa players experienced a tough afternoon, with them beaten 4-0 on the road at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday. The Villans opened their 2026/27 campaign with a heavy defeat on the south coast, proving unable to find any answer to four goals in the opening 31 minutes. Emery felt the mistakes his side made in the first period were consistently punished, though was satisfied with the reaction in the second 45.The Villa boss said: “Tough match, tough 20-25 minutes. Mistakes, and again we are building the team, and building the team, we can make some mistakes. “Today we were so, so unlucky, because each mistake we made, they were scoring. We conceded four goals in the first half – it was a crazy moment. “The second half, I think the players responded fantastic. We tried to get a new plan in the dressing room, playing the second half like we did without one player, and as well, trying to be always not losing our mind, being as well focused in our gameplan and trying to avoid conceding more goals or chances like we did. “And then, try to play, building the team, building our structure, building individually and collectively how we want to build the new team for this year.” Being made to start the game with no recognised striker in the starting line-up, Emery expanded on the challenges currently facing he and his team.However, having overcame early-season aversity in the past, the Spaniard is backing his players to battle through the adverse circumstances, ahead of next Monday’s outing at Villa Park against Arsenal. Emery added: “Of course, we have some circumstances, they are not helping us, but those circumstances we had before as well, last year, two years ago, three years ago, and always, we overcame it. “And this is now the new objective as well; try to finish the transfer window and start with the players we will have, of course working hard and preparing for the challenges we will have this year. “Of course, in Premier League, 38 matches, each point is very important, but today we lost three, and now the next match is next Monday against Arsenal at home. “Hopefully, in Villa Park, we can feel stronger and more comfortable and more confident with the players and with the tactical work we will do this week, and then, trying to avoid the mistakes we made today, and work for it.” Click below to watch Emery's full post-match interview via VillaTV now...