Emery praises Villa's maturity in thumping win at AZ

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was full of praise for his side's maturity in their 4-1 Europa Conference League demolition of AZ Alkmaar.

The Villans took the lead on 13 minutes when Leon Bailey powered a shot past goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

Youri Tielemans doubled the visitors' advantage 10 minutes later — finishing a perfectly weighted pass from midfield maestro John McGinn.

Ollie Watkins then tapped in the rebound from Bailey's saved effort early in the second half, before a McGinn goal ensured Ibrahim Sadiq's 65th-minute strike was merely a consolation.

Reflecting on a comprehensive triumph for the West Midlands outfit, Emery said: "We were speaking before the match about how important the match is, trying to be competitive away and trying to get the challenge being focused in 90 minutes.

"We did it. I am very happy with the players because I think they have to be mature, responsible and demanding themselves, not only when I'm pushing them.

"They have to try to increase their own individual and collective level.

"Today was fantastic because it was a key match and it was important. We have to be in the same idea and mentality that we are trying to get."

The Basque boss was understandably pleased with an away victory over experienced European campaigners AZ.

He added: "We are respecting them because they played in the semi-final last year against West Ham.

"They won last year against Lazio, they won last year against Anderlecht and it's because they have experiences in European competitions.

"That is very important for us as well, that we win a lot of matches in their league and in Europe. We are very focused in this competition.

"If we want to be a contender, we have to show every day and when we are playing those matches, we have to show everybody our wishes. I think we did it."