Unai Emery has become the quickest of three Aston Villa managers to reach 100 victories. His milestone came as Aston Villa defeated Lille in their Europa League tie. Emery is aiming to win the competition for a record-extending fifth time.
Emery’s Impressive Win Ratio
Emery has the best win ratio in the club’s history at 55.2%. He is one of only three Premier League managers to triumph 100 times during his time at Villa Park. Pep Guardiola (137) and Mikel Arteta (118) are the other two above him in that regard.
Emery brushed off the landmark after the match. His tally of 100 wins from 181 games eclipses Ron Saunders, who reached the century mark at the end 1977-78.
Saunders led the Villans out of the old second division, twice won the League Cup, and delivered the club’s first top-flight title for 71 years in 1980-81. He was also at the helm at the start of a memorable 1981-82 campaign that ended with European Cup glory.
Joe Mercer won promotion back to the top flight and oversaw a League Cup triumph between 1958-64. George Ramsay (1884–1926) took 190 games to get to 100 wins, while WJ Smith (1926–34) needed 205 matches.
- Emery achieved his century milestone in three years and four months.
- His sequence started with a 3-1 win over Manchester United in November 2022.
- Villa’s decision to go for Emery was a sign of their ambition to make a mark on the European stage.
McGinn Hails Result as a ‘Building Block’
Villa are well placed in fourth position in the English top flight. They aim to secure a Champions League berth next term. Success in the Europa League would also deliver the same outcome.
The match against Lille saw Villa recapture their rhythm and some confidence after a winless run of four games domestically. Those games included defeats to Newcastle, Chelsea and bottom club Wolves.
Returning captain John McGinn suggested that the result had provided Villa with a “building block” and the opportunity to “reset” after a difficult few weeks.
“We needed a reset. The past month has not been great,” he said. “We can’t dwell on it. We can learn from it but what we need to do is build and this is a building block. We know we can do a lot better but it is a good result.
“We showed signs of getting back to our best but there’s still a long way to go. Sunday is a ma