Emery believes Aston Villa are ‘best scoring team’ in PL but ‘screamed’ at players for performance

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has stated that his side are “the best scoring team in the league” but he feels they “have to be stronger defensively” after screaming at his players at half-time.

Villa’s win over Fulham meant they are now unbeaten in the Premier League at Villa Park in 13 games. Emery has made Villa Park a fortess, and has his side playing spectacular football.

That’s evidenced in their standing in the league – Villa are fifth and only a point behind Tottenham, who up until two games ago were top of the table.

Villa have scored 29 goals in their 12 games so far, with only Manchester City bettering that tally. As such, Emery believes his side are the best in the league going forwards.

“We are the best scoring team in the league,” he told BBC Sport.

However, on the flip side, he’s aware they need to get better at the back, having conceded 17 times in the league this season.

“It’s important because we’re showing our potential but we have to be stronger defensively,” he added.

Villa midfielder John McGinn also told BBC after the game that the manager was animated at half-time as he urged his players to keep a clean sheet, something they lost 20 minutes before the end of the game.

“The manager was screaming at half-time ‘clean sheet, clean sheet’. I’ve not seen him yet so maybe he’s angry,” McGinn said.

The midfielder also detailed the challenge set to him by his manager at the start of the season going forwards, that he’s hopeful he can complete.

“The manager put a lot of pressure on me at the start of the season to get 10 goals. I have five in all competitions. Let’s see if I can put a smile on his face,” he said.

McGinns performances are currently helping Villa into a great position, so he and Emery will hope that continues, along with the form of the rest of the side.

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