Ferguson spot on with unexpected verdict as Premier League title race heats up
Aston Villa are living up to Sir Alex Ferguson 's expectations after forcing their way into the Premier League title race.
The legendary Manchester United boss surprised fans with his praise for Villa after their opening day thrashing at the hands of Newcastle. The Magpies hammered Unai Emery's men 5-1 at St James' Park back in August, but the Villans have lost just twice since.
The Midlands side have launched a surprise title challenge thanks to that impressive record and sit just two points off leaders Liverpool. Within the past week, they have beaten reigning champions Manchester City and last year's runners-up Arsenal.
That form will come as no surprise to Ferguson though, with the Scot highlighting them in the very first days of the campaign. Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles during his time in charge of United and handed Villa high praise after their defeat on Tyneside.
“To be honest with you, I watched Aston Villa and I can’t believe the scoreline. Honestly Aston Villa played fantastic football and just lost to bad goals," he told NBC Sports, when asked who the most impressive team of the opening weekend had been.
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“Newcastle are going to be very difficult to beat, in their own ground in particular, and their manager has done a great job there. It’s a surprising game, football. You can play teams off the pitch and not score – that’s what Aston Villa did.”
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John McGinn's goal ensured Aston Villa's good run continued against ArsenalVilla followed up their impressive win over City on Wednesday by squeezing past Arsenal on Saturday evening. Captain John McGinn's early goal secured all three points for the hosts, though they did have to survive sustained pressure.
That win means they are now five points clear of fourth-placed City, with the victory being the 15th successive league win at Villa Park, a new club record. But boss Emery is keen to keep his side's feet on the ground, despite admitting they are delighted to be in the title race.
"I'm feeling very, very good and very happy, we are connecting with our supporters and the positive energy transmits to us. Today we needed it because we were tired after the game on Wednesday," Emery told Match of the Day.
"We competed well and had a strong defensive structure. We were speaking about the necessity to keep a clean sheet against City and Arsenal, it is amazing to keep them. Today we were lower than we wanted but we needed to compete and we did.
"We are increasing mentality and believing how we can be stronger and increase our communication. We will have a lot of work to do to increase more. We want to be in the top eight teams.
"But a lot of teams want to be there. At the beginning there were seven top teams but we will fight to be in there. While we are in we can be excited and motivated to get it."
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