Emery happy with Ajax draw and explains Pau withdrawal

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was happy with the result as his side drew 0-0 with Ajax in Amsterdam.

The first leg of the Europa Conference League last-16 tie was a fiery one, with each side finishing with 10 men after Ezri Konsa and Tristan Gooijer saw red in the second half.

Villa will be favourites to progress going into the second leg on home soil but Emery knows his side will have to improve next week if they are to reach the quarter-finals.

The Spanish coach said: "I'm happy. We didn't play well, we didn't control the game like we prepared and like we usually do but I accept that as well.

"They [Ajax] worked and they were very intense in the tactical play. They were winning more than us in some moments in the field and they deserve more.

"I'm happy because I knew before the difficulties we were going to face. The players are a little bit upset because they were not feeling comfortable but to compete is the most important thing.

"For me now it's very important this result is open for next week and now we will try to do something different and try to respect them, because now we know them better.

"My message before was the same. At Villa Park we need our moment next week and try to play and be more successful than today in our idea.

"We didn’t deserve more than we got tonight."

Emery also revealed Pau Torres' half-time substitution was a pre-match plan to manage the defender's workload.

The ex-Villarreal centre-back has struggled with injuries of late and was left on the bench for last Saturday's 3-2 win at Luton.

Emery added: "He had a small injury two weeks ago. We did a plan with him. I think tactically as well we needed to change something.

"The plan was to play 45 minutes with Pau Torres."