Unai Emery admits Aston Villa “must accept” defeat, after they were beaten 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.

Unai Emery admits Aston Villa “must accept” defeat, after they were beaten 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.

Unai Emery admits Aston Villa “must accept” defeat after his side fell 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.

First-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison secured all three points for Roberto De Zerbi’s Spurs, who were deserved winners at Villa Park.

The Villa boss acknowledged that the visitors were the better team and urged his players to keep fighting as the season approaches its climax.

“Disappointed, but we must accept,” Emery said. “Today, Tottenham—especially in the first half—played better than us. They were so, so focused and scored two goals very quickly.

“After that, it became more difficult. We tried to react. I think the second half we played more reactively, but we couldn’t create clear chances. We scored at the end through Emiliano Buendía.

“But now is the moment to reflect on our season overall and accept the result. Today we lost, and today Tottenham deserved to win. They must keep fighting in the Premier League for the positions we are both competing for.”

With three league games left and a Europa League semi-final second leg at home to Nottingham Forest on Thursday, Emery’s side still have plenty to play for.

The Spaniard insisted Villa remain in a strong league position and are capable of finishing the campaign strongly.

“We’ve shown consistency and done a lot of very good things to pick up points,” he added. “Recently, against Fulham and today, we haven’t got the points, but we still have an advantage over other teams.

“Next, we go to Burnley on Sunday—another opportunity. My priority now is to recover players, mentally as well, and try to support them to build a positive mood again during the week.

“Of course, we have Thursday’s match—a second-leg semi-final at home in the Europa League. That is something we must be very motivated for and focus on.

“In the league, it’s a 38-match season. We’ve finished today’s match—matchday 35—with 58 points. Other teams are also finding it difficult to pick up points, and we’re still ahead of them in the race for a top-five finish.”