Emery praises players but bemoans officials in Juventus stalemate

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery insists he was pleased with his side’s performance during the goalless draw with Juventus but called the decision to rule out Morgan Rogers’ late goal “soft”.

Rogers prodded home deep into second-half stoppage time in what was a cagey contest at Villa Park, only for the goal to be ruled out for what was deemed a foul on Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio.

It was virtually the last kick of the game and, had the goal stood, it would have ended Villa’s now-seven match run without a win.

Despite how the game ended, the Villa boss was full of praise for his side after going toe-to-toe with one of Europe’s biggest names.

Unai Emery has his say after the referee ruled out Morgan Rogers’ late goal 💬

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Emery told TNT Sports: “I am very happy, very happy because we got one point and we played very competitively.

“We played very seriously and respected the opponent. We were dominant for some of the match to try and get three points.”

About the disallowed goal, he added: “The last action is clear. It’s the interpretation of the referee. We know here in England, 80% it is no fault but maybe in Europe it is fault.

“It is very soft contact.”

Villa striker Ollie Watkins also called the decision to chalk off Rogers’ goal “soft” but admitted a draw was probably a fair result in the end.

Watkins said: “Maybe in the Premier League that’s a goal. But in Europe, in the European competitions, the goalkeepers are protected a lot.

“I thought we had scored but, to be fair, I think it had a 0-0 game written all over it. So we would have been lucky if we took that [win].”

Next up for Villa is a trip to high-flying Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.