Aston Villa 1-1 Bournemouth: Unai Emery Says 'Deserved Three Points’ After Late Draw

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said his side deserved the win after they were pegged back in a late 1-1 draw by Bournemouth in the Premier League. (More Football News)

Coming on the back of a 2-0 defeat of Bologna – their third straight win in the Champions League which propelled them to the top of the 36-team table – Villa were frustrated by a brilliant goalkeeping display from Mark Travers. 

But they found a way past the 25-year-old custodian in the 76th minute when Ross Barkley came off the bench to turn in a ball from Leon Bailey. 

The Cherries, however, had the final say at Villa Park as Evanilson glanced a Marcus Tavernier free-kick into the net to salvage a point for the visitors in the sixth minute of stoppage time. 

The result left Spanish tactician Emery frustrated as Villa were held to a third draw in four league matches, despite an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.8 and several attempts on target against the visitors on Saturday. 

"We played a fantastic match. We played I think the best minutes since the start of the season. The first half we controlled the game, but we didn't score, or when we did it was a no goal,” Emery told Sky Sports. 

"The second half we started even better than the first half. We were pushing, dominating, creating chances. The goalkeeper was saving a lot of times.

"We scored the goal, fantastic, but we didn't manage the last 10 minutes. They scored at the last moment and we have to accept it.

"We are having a fantastic season. Today, we only got one point and of course we deserved three points, but football is like that, and from the last 10 minutes they deserved to get something and they got it."

Bournemouth, meanwhile, followed up their 2-0 win against Arsenal with another resolute display and now sit in 11th place with 12 points from nine matches. 

“You are happy when you get one point at the end in the last minute, after fighting and being under pressure in a lot of parts of the game. We had chances but it was a difficult game for us,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola told Sky Sports. 

“[Travers] kept us in the game at the beginning. They were pushing us and I would say the back four plus the goalkeeper kept us there. The substitutes gave us another energy and at the end, we got a draw.

"It doesn't get any easier. We are competing well and showing some character. It is a valuable point." 

Aston Villa will hope to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup when they take on Crystal Palace on Wednesday, while Bournemouth host champions Manchester City in the Premier League in their next outing on November 2.