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Soccer

Unai Emery explains the tactical changes that led to Aston Villa draw at West Ham

Unai Emery explains the tactical changes that led to Aston Villa draw at West HamGetty

Aston Villa left London Stadium with a point after earning a 1-1 draw against hosts West Ham on Sunday, with the visitors requiring a late equaliser to seal the draw.

The Villans found themselves down in the 29th minute after Michail Antonio scored to give West Ham the lead, but Nicolo Zaniolo found the back of the net in the 79th minute to pull his side level.

West Ham also had two goals called back in VAR decisions that didn't go over well with the home fans, the last of which came deep into second-half stoppage time.

Regardless, Villa managed to walk away with a crucial point, extending their advantage over Tottenham Hotspur in the race for fourth place in the Premier League.

For Unai Emery, it was a tale of two halves as he felt his team were second-best in the opening 45 minutes.

"We didn't control the game in the first half. We were not progressing to impose our position," Emery told BBC Match of the Day. "We changed tactics in the second half and we got chances to score a goal and in the end we did score."

The Villa manager admitted that his side's pre-match preparations went out the window when the Hammer claimed an early lead.

"We had a plan before the match and the plan can change. The players had to be ready and focussed in case we needed them like today. Zaniolo is working and he is focussed."

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