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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Richard Jolly

The hard decisions Aston Villa now face after transfer gamble backfires

Unai Emery, manager of Aston Villa, wears a grim expression following the team’s defeat at Man Utd - (Getty)

Sixty-seven points, Unai Emery said, was “very fantastic”. He soon corrected himself. Aston Villa only had 66. He downgraded the description to “fantastic”. One extra word, one extra point, but one very different scenario.

A 67th would have secured them Champions League football. A year made a difference: 68 points brought fourth in 2024, 66 sixth 12 months on.

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