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Aston Villa boss in 'very soft' claim after dramatic ending to Juventus stalemate

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)


Unai Emery thought the decision to deny Morgan Rogers a late winning goal against Juventus was "very soft".

When Youri Tielemans whipped in a free-kick in second half added time, Diego Carlos was adjudged to have fouled goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio before Rogers put the ball into an empty net.

It was an even match and Emery believed a draw was a fair result after Emi Martinez made a stunning save to deny Francisco Conceicao just after the hour mark and John McGinn saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Manuel Locatelli.

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"I am very happy because we won a point," Emery told TNT Sports. "We played a very competitive match. We were dominating the match to try to get three points.

"The last action is clear. It's the interpretation of the referee. We know in England, it's 80% not a foul, but in Europe, maybe not. For me it was harsh. In England, I know it's not a foul usually because it was a very soft contact. But in Europe, it could be foul. I think the referee, in the beginning, he was giving it as a goal, but we have to accept his decision."

Emery added: "We played a serious match. We played trying to avoid the mistakes we made from the last matches. We were playing better and I think we more or less deserved to win the match than them.

"We analysed their play, they are building a team and are in the process. They are very competitive and very difficult to beat. They've only lost one match.

"But we wanted to play too. We were dominating them. We were getting into their box better and we had chances to score. They had the chance in the second half with that Emiliano Martinez save. I think it was very tight match for both teams.

"But I'm happy with the overall result. Three wins, one draw and one defeat is very good. We still have the possibility to get into the top eight."

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