Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn admits having the chance to qualify for Europe for the first time in more than a decade is something which they did not think was possible six months ago.
Manager Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard in late October with the club 15th in the Premier League but after a 1-1 draw at Anfield their destiny remains in their own hands in terms of securing a spot in the Europa Conference League.
McGinn, who said “every day is a school day” under the Spaniard, accepts that possibility seemed remote at the start of winter.
“It’s been the aim since day one. The owners have had a remit to get us back playing European football,” he said.
“If you’d said to us back in November ‘you’d be three points away’ then you’d have laughed. We have got three points to get to get us back.
“This club deserves to be in the top 10, we’ve managed to secure that for the first time in a long, long while.
“Now it’s about building, getting into Europe hopefully and build from there.”
McGinn said the transformation under Emery, who has won 14 and lost just six of his 24 matches in charge, had been remarkable.
And he believed their performance and experience at Anfield against a team desperately trying to attain Champions League qualification would stand them in good stead if they do indeed qualify for Europe.
“It was a test for us, it was a challenge. If we want to play in Europe, we need to come to places like this and get results,” he added.
“We’ve given ourselves a huge opportunity next week (at home to Brighton) and hopefully we take it.
“It’s in our hands now and we know three points will get us European football.
“The manager has touched on it, he has a lot of experience of European football, I’m sure everyone involved in the club will be so focused this week to make sure that’s a reality.
“He will have an obsession this week on how to beat Brighton. I think if you ask any player who has worked with him this year he has been an absolute pleasure.
“He’s made myself better, he’s made other players better. Every day is a school day, I keep saying it.
“I’m not used to his style of football, the Spanish way. I’ve always had British ex-pros who were all brilliant for me, brilliant for my career but he’s certainly showing me a different side of football and one I’m certainly enjoying.
“I feel as if I’ve got so much left to learn but, even at 28, there’s so much more learning to do. Hopefully the progress can continue and myself and others can continue to improve.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
