Unai Emery ‘not accepting’ Ipswich draw as Aston Villa boss left frustrated.

Unai Emery, manager of Aston Villa, felt that the 2-2 draw with Ipswich was a fair result, although he was disappointed that Villa did not finish first in the Premier League.

Villa appeared to be on track for a pre-Champions League boost and a probable move to joint-first place after goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins thwarted Delap’s early strike.

However, Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich battled their way back into the game with Delap’s magnificent 72nd-minute solo goal, ensuring a draw at Portman Road.

After the final whistle, Emery stated, “I believe the result was fair, and we could have lost the match at the end.” I do not accept the outcome, the point in my plan to enhance our level and our demands, but I embrace the process.

“Overall we have 13 points, but we were optimistic about the possibility to be with Liverpool with 15 points.”

He also acknowledged the difficulties posed by recently promoted teams: “We understand how difficult it is in this division to compete against opponents like Ipswich. After being promoted, they are excited, driven, and play with confidence.

“This is the difficulty we face in 90 minutes, but in the first half, we performed even better than I had planned in terms of stopping their game plan and their ability to push us.”

“But in the second half, they play exactly how I planned in the first half. We obviously needed to be stronger than we were at the time.”

The focus now shifts to midweek, when Bayern travel to town. When asked if their opponents’ additional 24 hours of preparation could lead to his side becoming fatigued after their thrilling draw with Ipswich, Emery dismissed the fears with a quip.

“We are going to suspend the match on Wednesday,” he told the crowd. “What do we want?” We want to play in Europe. We want to play matches on Sunday and Wednesday. We aim to match the success of other teams such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, and Tottenham. We want it.

“What if we don’t want?” OK, we’re not playing in Europe and will be relaxing all week. Fantastic for everyone, but it is the task we face; the players, myself, the supporters, and even the writer! “We’ll be tired, but this is the level.”