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Maccabi fans were banned from attending the match, resulting in a heightened police presence at Villa Park
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery praised his team after producing a “solid and serious’ performance against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday.
Maccabi fans had been banned from attending the fixture at Villa Park due to safety concerns and, while West Midlands Police confirmed six arrests had been made before kick-off, the game proceeded largely trouble-free.
An Ian Maatsen strike and Donyell Malen penalty ensured a 2-0 victory as Villa made it three wins from four matches in the competition to move up to sixth in the 36-team table.
And while Emery admitted his side were not at their best, he was pleased by the character his players showed.
“Focus and respecting the Europa League and the teams. How we performed in 90 minutes, not being brilliant we played solid and serious,” Emery told TNT Sports.
“We had to accept the opponents needed to get something here and they played very, very focussed.
“But, overall we dominated and overall we were patient and created chances.”
The Villa boss also revealed he utilised the disappointment of European defeats in previous seasons to motivate his players.
Emery added: “Those experiences [of losing at home in previous seasons in European competitions] we are now remembering to try and understand the difficulties. And today after the first half we were talking about not getting frustrated. We needed to stay resilient and patient.
“Scoring the second goal gave us confidence to try to manage the match like we did.”
Next up for Emery’s men is the visit of high-flying Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.
