- Aston Villa faces Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League semi-finals
- Unai Emery’s men are the only English representatives left in Europe
- Newcastle should NOT be afraid to sell their best players… it has worked for Aston Villa – Listen to the It’s all starting! podcast
Unai Emery believes English clubs’ European chances are hurt by the level of the Premier League, with Aston Villa the last team standing this season.
Villa faces Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League semi-finals after being the only English club to make it past the quarter-finals. Manchester City and Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League and Liverpool and West Ham fell short in the Europa League.
Emery said: “We are the only English team left and it is difficult because our league is the toughest in the world.”
‘We must be 100 per cent focused on the preparation for each match if we want to be successful in our league and combining it with Europe is a difficult challenge.
“But I don’t understand how you can decide not to properly approach European football. The most successful teams in the world are my reference points, so we are very motivated both with the league and with Europe.
Unai Emery believes the Premier League challenge has hurt English teams in Europe
Aston Villa is the only English club that remains in European competition this season
Aston Villa faces Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League after beating Lille on penalties
“Being at the level we are at now is perhaps the best we could have hoped for at the start of the season. But as we have done better throughout the year, what we have achieved is not a surprise.
‘Keeping it like this for a long time is difficult. Now we are candidates to finish fourth in the Premier League and reach the final of the Europa Conference League. Our idea is to continue progressing.
“Our first goal all season has been to finish as high as possible in the Premier League, but we have never shied away from treating the Conference League properly.”
