Aston Villa manager Unai Emery acknowledged an error in his tactical approach after their 1-0 loss to Monaco in the Champions League. Wilfried Singo's early goal dashed Villa's hopes of securing automatic qualification for the last 16. Now, they must likely defeat Celtic next week to ensure a spot in the top eight and bypass the play-off round.Emery started with Ollie Watkins as the lone striker but introduced Jhon Duran in the 57th minute, replacing Leon Bailey, in search of an equaliser. "We have two good strikers. Playing with two strikers is my challenge. Both are very good players, but today it didn't work well," Emery stated post-match. "I made a mistake when I decided to play with two strikers."Despite conceding early, Villa managed four shots on target in the first half. However, their attacking threat diminished after halftime, managing only one shot on target and an expected goals (xG) figure of 0.46. Emery commented, "I think we played 70 minutes like I wanted. The opponent, of course, have a gameplan as well."Villa created several opportunities to score but failed to capitalise on them. Emery noted that while they had three or four good chances, they needed to be more clinical at this level. "The last 20 to 25 minutes we were playing with two strikers and we were not threatening like the first 70 minutes," he added.Jhon Duran has been prolific this season with 12 goals across all competitions, while Ollie Watkins has contributed 10 goals and seven assists. Despite their recent unbeaten streak of five matches across all competitions, Villa now finds themselves eighth in the Champions League's first phase standings with 13 points.

Emery expressed some positivity about their performance despite the result. He believed they controlled much of the game until switching to two strikers disrupted their organisation and positioning. The team now faces a crucial match against Celtic to secure their place among Europe's elite clubs.