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Villa’s Champions League Qualification a Special Day, Says Boss Emery 

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery after a Premier League match on May 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery after a Premier League match on May 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Villa’s Champions League Qualification a Special Day, Says Boss Emery 

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery after a Premier League match on May 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery after a Premier League match on May 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery celebrated a "very special day" after the Premier League club clinched a spot in Europe's top-tier club-football competition for the first time since 1983 and said he is excited by the future of his team.

The West Midlands side secured the Champions League spot on Tuesday after Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-0 home loss to Manchester City in the Premier League. Aston Villa had won the old European Cup, precursor to the Champions League, in 1982, but have not played in the continental competition for 41 years.

Villa are fourth in the Premier League standings with 68 points, five more than Tottenham, who sit fifth with one game to play. City are now within touching distance of an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title.

"It's a very special day today," Emery told Villa's website. "It was our dream when we started the season to be here. To play Champions League is, after the Premier League, the best.

"You can play in the Premier League against the best teams in the world, it's very difficult. When you are playing in the Champions League you are playing against the best teams, at the same time, from other countries. And it's amazing.

"And we are always responsible about the history here, we know the history of Aston Villa is so long and so successful. Even in the Champions League, before it was the European Cup, we knew the responsibility was to try to increase our level, try to be demanding and to dream.

"I want to enjoy more and, next year, now the new challenge starts for us. To build again a team, and being strong to go and always increase our level. This is our objective."

The confirmation of their top-four finish coincided with the club's End of Season Awards Dinner at Villa Park, where captain John McGinn also spoke on the achievement.

"On behalf of all the players, it's been an amazing season," the 29-year-old Scotland international said.

"We got promoted, we got into the Premier League and were seven points behind with four games to play, we managed to stay in the league.

"We kept building and thankfully we've achieved something we haven't done for 40 years. So, on behalf of all the players and staff, we're over the moon, we're delighted."

Villa will conclude their campaign with a trip on Sunday to in-form Crystal Palace, who are 12th in the league.

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Leao and Pulisic Inspire AC Milan Comeback in 3-2 Win over Inter in Italian Super Cup Final

Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Final - Inter Milan v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 7, 2025 AC Milan's Rafael Leao celebrates with the trophy after winning the Italian Super Cup REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Final - Inter Milan v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 7, 2025 AC Milan's Rafael Leao celebrates with the trophy after winning the Italian Super Cup REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
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Leao and Pulisic Inspire AC Milan Comeback in 3-2 Win over Inter in Italian Super Cup Final

Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Final - Inter Milan v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 7, 2025 AC Milan's Rafael Leao celebrates with the trophy after winning the Italian Super Cup REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Final - Inter Milan v AC Milan - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 7, 2025 AC Milan's Rafael Leao celebrates with the trophy after winning the Italian Super Cup REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini

It took exactly one week on the job for Sergio Conceicao to earn his first trophy as AC Milan's coach — with two comeback wins no less.
Milan came back from two goals down to beat city rival Inter Milan 3-2 and win the Italian Super Cup on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Rafael Leao came off the bench and played a part in all three of Milan's goals from Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham.
Conceicao was hired to replace the fired Paulo Fonseca last Monday and also led the Rossoneri to a comeback win over Juventus in the semifinals.
So what changed with Conceicao?
“We played with confidence, courage and hunger,” Abraham said. “We’re a strong team.”
Added Pulisic, “He told us we need to have more hunger and that that's more important than tactics.”
After the semifinals, Conceicao was asked if he embraced his players.
“I’m not so nice and I’m not someone who hugs,” he said. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to win.”
But after the final, Conceicao was seen dancing with his players and smoking a cigar in the changing room.
It was Milan’s first trophy since winning Serie A in 2022; and eighth Super Cup title but first since 2016.
Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi put Inter ahead with goals on either side of halftime.
Leao then earned a foul that resulted in a free kick which Hernandez curled in around Inter's wall.
Then Pulisic finished off a counterattack by shooting through Augusto’s legs on a play that began with Leao.
For the third goal, Leao provided a through ball for Pulisic, who crossed to Abraham, who tapped into an empty net in stoppage time. The final was moments away from going to a penalty shootout, since there was not going to be any extra time according to the competition rules.
“It’s also our fault that Fonseca was fired,” said Hernandez, who like Leao often clashed with Fonseca. “We didn’t have much time to work together (with Conceicao) but it’s gone well in that short span.”
It was the fifth time in the last seven years that the competition was played in Saudi Arabia, and the second year of an expanded four-team format.
A throw-in led to Inter’s opener as Taremi fed the ball inside the area to Lautaro, who cut back before shooting through Hernandez’s legs on Inter’s only real chance of the half.
Taremi, who was playing in place of the injured Marcus Thuram, finished off a counterattack right after the break.
Milan plays its first Serie A match under Conceicao against Cagliari on Saturday. The Rossoneri are in eighth place with only seven wins in 17 matches but will return to league action with much more confidence.
Inter lost for only the third time this season across all competitions, and for the second time to Milan, which won the Serie A derby 2-1 in September. The Nerazzurri’s other loss was to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
“Inter stopped playing when it was 2-0,” Lautaro said. “You pay for that in games like these. We knew that Milan's best weapon is their counterattacks."