Xherdan Shaqiri praised Aston Villa’s development under Unai Emery after the Premier League side beat FC Basel 2-1 in Switzerland
Xherdan Shaqiri of Basel(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
FC Basel captain Xherdan Shaqiri believes Aston Villa have a “big chance” of winning the Europa League this season and admits he is pleased to see the club develop under Unai Emery.
Before Thursday night, when Villa won 2-1 at St. Jakob-Park, Shaqiri had made three appearances against the club – twice for Liverpool and once for Stoke City, during the season they were relegated from the top flight.
Villa’s ascent since 2018 has been phenomenal under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Dean Smith guided the club to promotion and then safety, before Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard.
After beating Basel, Villa are now on their longest winning run as a top-flight club in over 111 years, having claimed eight consecutive victories.
In the Europa League, they have taken 15 points from a possible 18, but sit in third place, with Lyon and FC Midtjylland occupying first and second on the same number of points.
Evann Guessand opened the scoring against Basel, before Youri Tielemans came off the bench to restore Villa’s lead in the second half, following Flavius Daniliuc’s equaliser.
“I think in the end they deserved to win. They were better with the ball today,” Shaqiri said post-match.
“I think we can be proud. We wanted more from the game. We had some good opportunities, but you saw the class difference.
“You saw why Aston Villa were third in the Premier League. They have the quality of the squad. They have a lot of investment in quality players, and you see this on the field.”
Asked if Villa are the best team in the Europa League, Shaqiri said: “You can see the quality of their players. I think you can see how they have developed in the last years and have Unai Emery. He has done a great job at Villa.
“They have a big chance, and I think they can go through, and you never know how far the team can go because the quality is there.
“Also, in the Premier League you can see how they play with confidence. I am really happy how Aston Villa is doing at the moment.”
Content cannot be displayed without consentWhat do you make of Shaqiri’s comments? Tell us here
The latest Villa headlines sent straight to your phone
Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It’s a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click ‘Exit Group’. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice