‘I think Villa deserved something more’ – Emery optimistic despite EFL Cup exit

Unai Emery believes Aston Villa “deserved something more” from their EFL Cup defeat to Brentford.

Despite taking the lead through Harvey Elliot, Villa were pegged back before losing on penalties, with John McGinn and Matty Cash missing crucial spot kicks.

Villa have failed to win any of their opening five games of the 2025-26 campaign, while Elliot’s goal was their first across all competitions this season.

Emery, however, remained optimistic following the loss as he insisted his Villa side showed signs of improvement.

“We drew but we created chances to win the match. I think we deserved something more – we competed well,” said Emery.

Unai’s post-match thoughts pic.twitter.com/g6kdpsSJEl

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 16, 2025

“We improved things and we scored one goal, which is important as well.

“They played and they performed well. We created chances and in the last minute were pushing to win the match, and I think the spirit we showed today is the spirit I want.

“I think we’re getting better. There’s still work to do and we’re going to practice, preparing [for] the game on Sunday.

“We have to work hard like we were doing, with the new structure and new players we have who joined us two weeks ago.

“Today we lost but I want to keep going, to keep improving things, giving some players minutes we need to add in the squad. We keep going thinking now about Sunderland on Sunday.”