Monaco 1 – 0 Aston Villa happymamay

Aston Villa coach Unai Emery believes that his team could have missed its chance to directly qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League after losing 1-0 to Monaco.

Villa are now precariously balanced in eighth place, supported only by superior goal difference, having previously been poised to avoid the knockout stage.

The team hosts Celtic on Wednesday, January 29, in the final match of the last stage of the league, but Emery believes that its hopes of occupying the top eight positions may be over.

“When we play games like today, it is important that we get the three points because I think we missed the chance to reach the top eight,” Emery said.

“Today was the key.”

The two teams were separated by eight places before the confrontation at Stade Louis II, but that gap quickly narrowed to two places, on either side of the top eight, thanks to Wilfried Singo’s header in the first 10 minutes.

Tyrone Mings’s unforced error led to a corner kick for the hosts, and despite a stunning save from Emiliano Martinez from Thilo Kehrer’s early block, the Argentina goalkeeper was unable to do anything about the rebound.

His counterpart at the other end, Radoslav Majicki, also played his part by ensuring the lead remained intact heading into the break by shooting well down his right to deflect Ollie Watkins’ only chance of the first half around the post.

Even the introduction of John Doran on the bench in the 56th minute could not spark Villa into life, and the visitors did not pose much of a threat after the start of the second half apart from a shot from Matty Cash which was tipped wide.

For Monaco, it was another victory over an English side at home that sparked their chances of automatic progression.

They have now won five of their last six home games against Premier League rivals, with Villa joining Chelsea. Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City are on the list of victims.

Emery: When we played with two strikers, we didn’t pose much of a threat

Aston Villa president Unai Emery:

“Maybe you could be here for two days to explain this [the loss]. We played 70 minutes as I wanted. They had good transitions.

“We were communicating with our two No. 10s, but we attacked through the middle with passes and got into their penalty area and created three good chances. When we played with two strikers, we lost our position and didn’t threaten them much.”

Villa’s future in the Champions League depends on Celtic

Sky Sports Patrick Rowe:

Historic victories over Young Boys, Bayern Munich, Bologna and RB Leipzig mean Emery’s men are fully focused on the top eight, but after failures against Club Brugge and now Monaco, as well as a frustrating 0-0 draw with Juventus, their chances now rest in the first leg against Celtic this week. Next.

Emery dreamed of his team reaching 19 points before the recent defeat, but he admitted that obtaining 16 points might be enough to pull the team to the goal line.

Attention will now quickly turn to how those around them – such as Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich – perform but by next Wednesday, Villa will need to be miles ahead of the levels they displayed on Tuesday evening.

They looked off the pace against Monaco, which is to be expected after giving everything they could to come back against Arsenal on Saturday, but they will face a similar task in the coming days.

Between this defeat and Brendan Rodgers’ team visiting the ‘Second City’, Villa will host West Ham, Live on Sky Sportsin a match that carries equal importance given the race for the top four places in the English Premier League.

The matches continue with intensity and speed, but the chance to compete in the round of 16 in Europe is not guaranteed.

What happens if Villa don’t make the top eight?

Teams that finish ninth in the 24th place enter a two-game playoff in February, with the winners securing the other eight spots in the round of 16.

Those who finish ninth to sixteenth will be seeded into the playoffs, so they will play the second leg at home. Those from 17th to 24th will be unseeded, so they will play the first leg at home.

Does it matter how far Villa rise from ninth to 24th?

The new Champions League system means that the ninth-placed team will face the 24th-placed team in the play-off round. The 10th plays 23rd, the 11th plays 22nd, and so on.

So, if you miss out on a top-eight finish, the blow will be softened by facing the worst-performing teams who qualified from the league stage. So, the higher level you finish, the “easier” the game gets.

However, if teams like Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain struggle in the league stage, Villa could face top teams in the play-off rounds.

The story of the match in statistics

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