![\"Xherdan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_FC-Basel-v-Aston-Villa-UEFA-Europa-League-Group-Stage-Football-St-Jakob-Park-Basel-Switzerlan.jpg\")
Xherdan Shaqiri of Basel(Image: James Marsh\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\nXherdan Shaqiri praised Aston Villa’s development under Unai Emery after the Premier League side beat FC Basel 2-1 in SwitzerlandXherdan Shaqiri of Basel(Image: James Marsh\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
FC Basel captain Xherdan Shaqiri believes Aston Villa have a “big chance” of winning the Europa League<\/a> this season and admits he is pleased to see the club develop under Unai Emery.<\/a><\/p>\n Before Thursday night, when Villa won 2-1 at St. Jakob-Park<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Villa\u2019s ascent since 2018 has been phenomenal under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Dean Smith<\/a> guided the club to promotion and then safety, before Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Evann Guessand opened the scoring against Basel, before Youri Tielemans came off the bench to restore Villa\u2019s lead in the second half, following Flavius Daniliuc\u2019s equaliser.<\/p>\n \u201cI think in the end they deserved to win. They were better with the ball today,” Shaqiri said post-match.<\/p>\n “I think we can be proud. We wanted more from the game. We had some good opportunities, but you saw the class difference.<\/p>\n \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if Villa are the best team in the Europa League<\/a>, Shaqiri said: \u201cYou 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, in the Premier League you can see how they play with confidence. I am really happy how Aston Villa is doing at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consentWhat do you make of Shaqiri’s comments? Tell us here<\/a><\/strong> 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. 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