A young Aston Villa who was left in tears after having a banner taken down by the stewards got a perfect ending.
On Thursday night, Villa travelled to the Netherlands as they took on AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League.
Goals from Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn sealed a comfortable 4-1 victory for Unai Emery’s men.
During the match, a young fan holding up a banner asking for Villa star Moussa Diaby’s shirt had it taken away by the stewards.
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As a result, the fan was left devastated as he broke down in tears and had to be comforted by another steward.
However, the young fan got the perfect ending after Diaby approached him after the final whistle.
The Villa summer signing took off his shirt and handed it over to the fan before posing for pictures on the pitch.
After the match, Emery was full of praise after the convincing victory.
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He said: “We are respecting them because they played in the semi-final last year against West Ham. They won last year against Lazio, they won last year against Anderlecht and it’s because they have experiences in European competitions.
“That is very important for us as well, that they are win a lot of matches in their league and in Europe. They are very focused in this competition. If we want to be a contender, we have to show every day and when we are playing those matches, we have to show everybody our wishes. I think we did it.”
Emery added: “I am very happy with the players because I think they have to be mature, responsible and demanding themselves, not only when I’m pushing them. They have to try to increase their own individual and collective level.”
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Topics: Unai Emery, Aston Villa, Football
Marcus Chan