Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was involved in a bizarre incident with midfielder Youri Tielemans after substituting him in the closing stages of their 1-0 win over Fenerbahce
Unai Emery shoved and screamed at Youri Tielemans after substituting him in the closing stages of Aston Villa’s win over Fenerbahce. Villa booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win in Turkey on Thursday night, but their victory was somewhat overshadowed by a bizarre incident at the end.
Jadon Sancho’s header from Matty Cash’s cross gave Villa the lead in the 25th minute and they held on to record their sixth win from seven games in the Europa League group phase. It means that Emery’s side are guaranteed a place in the knockout stage of the competition with a game to spare.
But what should have been a wholly positive evening ended on a strange sour note when Tielemans was brought off for George Hemmings. After walking past Hemmings, the Belgian midfielder grabbed the coat of his manager, who reacted angrily by shouting at his player and pushing him away towards the bench.
The incident absolutely baffled fans watching on TV and they were left none the wiser after Emery’s post-match interview. Asked what happened, the Villa boss smiled and told TNT Sports: “He’s my son. He’s my son.”
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football’s Facebook page
READ MORE: Transfer news LIVE: Salah’s Liverpool future, Man Utd exit confirmed, Arsenal & Chelsea latestREAD MORE: Man Utd make immediate decision after Casemiro exit as Michael Carrick’s feelings become clear
It happened in the 92nd minute of the game, with just five minutes of added time left on the clock. It was unclear whether Tielemans – who has been a key player for Villa this season – was unhappy to be brought off, or if there was a different reason behind the brief altercation.
Villa needed VAR’s intervention to make sure of the three points, with their former striker Jhon Duran offside in the build-up to Kerem Akturkoglu’s apparent equaliser.
The win means that Villa cannot drop out of the top eight in the Europa League group stage table and are therefore assured of a place in the next stage, without needing a play-off. Emery was delighted with the performance, which came despite him making six changes from the side which suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Everton in the Premier League on the weekend.
“We competed fantastic and we adapted to everything they were demanding of us,” he said. “In the first half we played fantastic. We were controlling with and without the ball. In the second half, we started with chances to score the second goal and we finished it over 90 minutes deserving completely the result we have.”
It was a particularly good night for Sancho, who bagged his first goal for Villa since joining on loan from Manchester United in the summer. “I’m happy to get my first goal for Aston Villa. I was pointing at Ezri [Konsa] at the end because in training we’ve been practising some headers,” he said.
“The manager and the team are helping me get to my best. I know I can do a lot more. I’m hard on myself in that aspect. [Emery] keeps telling me to be positive. It’s nice to have a manager that backs you and obviously believes in you. Hopefully I can deliver goals more.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
