Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 in the Champions League at Villa Park, making it three wins from three in the competition. The result came as Unai Emery marked the fourth anniversary of his appointment from Villarreal ahead of Villa's Premier League meeting with leaders Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime.
European position after the win
After the Viking match, Aston Villa were level on nine points with Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Real Betis. Before facing Viking, Villa had beaten Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League at Villa Park and have now won 12 European home games in a row.
How the goals came
Ross Barkley scored against Viking, his fourth goal of the season. Alysson won a penalty that Emiliano Buendia converted to put Villa two up, and Alysson's cross was then deflected into his own net by Henrik Heggheim for Villa's third goal. Peter Christiansen scored a late goal for Viking.
Emery on confidence and the schedule
Villa manager Emery said: "Those three points fills us with confidence. We are comfortable, and of course as well getting balance, because after this match we are going to play against Barcelona, favourites, and then we play against Galatasaray away."
Emery said: "We now try to focus now on the Manchester City game on Saturday, hopefully the same atmosphere, the same energy. I am so, so happy but we must keep moving forward with the challenges we are going to face. There's still a lot of work to do, so how we are responding, getting better, is really fantastic."
Barkley praise and team news
Emery said: "As a person, he is a fantastic guy. Ross Barkley is a very good player with experience, and his career, I don't know why, was going down after Chelsea. When we watched him at Luton, we thought, 'wow, what a player'. I am so happy with how he is playing, always being respectful whether he is playing or not. I am pushing him a lot offensively. I know he can score and can head the ball. I am very demanding of him offensively. I am happy for him."
Six of the Aston Villa starting line-up that won the Europa League final 3-0 against Freiburg in Istanbul in May left during the summer. Johan Manzambi is currently a doubt to face Manchester City.