Salute! The dark horse of the Premier League is aiming for the European championship. It only took two months to go from the relegation zone to the Champions League.

Emery waved his hand, and Malen, who had just scored a goal for the Dutch national team and qualified for the World Cup, came on as a substitute after halftime. In just 2 minutes, Mullen assisted and Rogers equalized the score. Half an hour later, Rogers scored twice. Aston Villa reversed and defeated Leeds United away from home, rising to fourth in the Premier League and entering the Champions League.

Recalling the fifth round of the Premier League, Aston Villa had 3 draws and 2 losses. It was hard to win and was deep in the relegation zone. Unexpectedly, after winning 6 out of 7 games, including defeating Tottenham and Manchester City, Villa skyrocketed and rushed from the relegation zone to the Champions League in just two months. Taking into account all competitions, Villa has 9 wins and 2 losses in the last 11 games, making it one of the hottest teams in Europe. The Premier League ranks fourth and the Europa League ranks sixth. Judging from the rankings, they are both good.

After defeating Leeds United, statistics show that Aston Villa ended up with a total of 9 points despite lagging behind in the Premier League this season, second only to Brighton with 10 points, making it the second-highest team in the Premier League. Villa was able to get out of the relegation zone and suddenly enter the top four. Emery played a major role and deserves tribute.

Six years ago, Aston Villa returned to the Premier League after three seasons. This team, which finished second behind Manchester United in the first year of the Premier League, could only start from the bottom, a dark horse. In the previous three seasons, Villa ranked 17th, 11th and 14th respectively, narrowly avoiding relegation, and slowly regaining its footing until Emery's arrival.

After taking over from Wenger as Arsenal coach, Emery quickly left and joined Villarreal. After defeating Manchester United to win the Europa League, he defeated Juventus and Bayern Munich in the Champions League and reached the Champions League semi-finals. With such outstanding results, Emery was favored by Villa and subsequently returned to the Premier League.

From the top giants Arsenal to the "new team" returning to the Premier League, Emery has made Villa a dark horse in recent years. They ranked 7th, 4th and 6th respectively in three seasons. They entered the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season and their results are quite stable. Although he encountered some troubles at the beginning of this season, he quickly turned the situation around. I believe Emery will still have the opportunity to take charge of a giant club in the future.

However, Emery's greatest achievement is not the league, but the Europa League. He led Sevilla to win three consecutive Europa League titles and led Villarreal to win the championship. Only Arsenal lost in the final, so the Europa League is sometimes called the "Amelie Cup".

Looking back at history, Aston Villa has won the English top league championship 7 times, but the last time happened 44 years ago, and more than 100 years have passed since the last time. The only top European championship was also a story 43 years ago. This season, Aston Villa participated in the Europa League and is currently ranked well. It is expected to go straight to the top 16 and aim at the European championship. It is obviously the pursuit of the "King of the Europa League" Emery. Villa also hopes to win the second European championship.

Judging from the schedule, Aston Villa's three future opponents are Swiss Young Boys in the Europa League, and Wolves and Brighton in the league. Then the challenge will come. Before the last day of this year, they will meet Arsenal (twice), Manchester United and Chelsea. If Aston Villa now takes the first step to get out of the relegation zone, facing several giants on New Year's Eve is the key to whether it can once again compete in the Champions League.

In April last year, Aston Villa and Emery renewed their contract until 2027, and in May last year, Aston Villa and Emery renewed their contract until 2029. In just one month, Emery got two contract extensions, which is rare in world football and reflects Villa's trust and reluctance. From the relegation zone to the Champions League, Emery has not let the team down, and the European championship will be the next goal.