Aston Villa are currently the team to watch out for, having become one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last few months. They have already taken on some big teams like Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and others.
Manager Unai Emery has built a very strong team without much investment and without much change. He took on a midtable club and has transformed it into a team to genuinely fear. However, their success was already predicted by a very observant man.
Months-old footage of Sir Alex Ferguson praising Aston Villa goes viral
Sir Alex Ferguson is widely considered to be one of the best managers in soccer history. The Scotsman was the legendary manager of Manchester United, winning and dominating everything. He is considered the greatest by many and one of the most intelligible minds in the sport.
Therefore, when Sir Alex gives an opinion or advice, it is definitely worth listening to. And now a prediction of his has come true despite the odds. The 81-year-old had made the bold prediction of backing Aston Villa and Unai Emery at the start of the season. The club had lost 5-1 in the opening game of the season to Newcastle United and many thought the rest of the season would be hard for them.
Despite that heavy loss, Sir Alex was instead impressed by what he had seen. When asked who impressed him that day, the ex-United manager backed Unai Emery’s team. He said, “To be honest with you, I watched Aston Villa and Newcastle, and I can’t believe the score line.”
“Honestly, Aston Villa played fantastic football, and just lost bad goals. It’s a surprising game, football. You can play teams off the pitch and not score – that’s what Aston Villa did.”
Aston Villa firmly in early title race
And it seems that his words were not without merit. Aston Villa have fairly established themselves as one of the best teams in the league this season. The Villians are currently third in the Premier League, with 35 points taken after 16 games. They are only two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who are also on good form.
Unai Emery has also transformed the team to become so dominant on the pitch, and it was seen in the big games. He has managed to hand out 1-0 losses to both Manchester City, with manager Pep Guardiola admitting they were the lesser team, and Arsenal in the last two games, and dominated both of them while doing it. The club also grabbed a victory against Tottenham before that. They have won the most games in the league in 2023, after Manchester City only.
The club also has some great players in their midst, with World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez being their key point, and they made a bold claim to win the Premier League as well. Players like Moussa Diaby, Ollie Watkins, and Tyrone Mings are also crucial to their ongoing success. If they keep playing like this, they may seriously be challenging for the Premier League title.
Aston Villa will now concentrate on the Conference League, where they face Zrinjski this Thursday. How far will they be able to go? Make sure to tell us what you think in the comments.
