Aston Villa victory more important than personal glory for Nicolas Jackson
Aston Villa striker Nicolas Jackson is enjoying his Unai Emery reunion as he continues his impressive start at his new club.
The Senegal international joined Villa from Chelsea in the summer in a deal that could reach £65million and he is already repaying that.
He has scored in back-to-back Premier League games and then grabbed a double as Villa demolished Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday to record their biggest ever European win.
It might have been a hat-trick had he been permitted to take a second-half penalty, but boss Emery did not allow the players to deter from the plan of Ross Barkley being the designated taker.
But Jackson, who worked under Emery at Villarreal, admitted he would have liked to take the penalty, and said: “A very good win. The second day of the Champions League, and we were very happy to get the win and clean sheet.
“I’m just playing, trying to score every game and winning and helping the team.
“Playing for the manager as well is very important, and (I’m) just trying to win games and focus on the pitch, that’s the most important for me.
“I’m very happy. The most important that we win, and hopefully next time I will get the hat-trick.”
Villa have had a tricky start to the season after a summer upheaval, but everything clicked into place as they swatted the Turkish club aside.
They made it two wins from two in the Champions League and with a home game against Norwegian minnows Viking next week, they could go a long way to securing their place in at least the play-off round.
Villa got to the quarter-finals two years ago, before a plucky defeat to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, and Emery is again targeting a strong campaign.
“I can feel confident. I was confident before, but with this result and with the match we play (on Wednesday) I am more confident,” he said.
“But still a lot of work to do. We are progressively getting better, progressively getting the balance we need, and today we did a very good step forward, and in Champions League, of course, those three points for us in the table is important, and we are being ambitious.
“We want to be protagonists in the Champions League. I think we enjoyed the match with our supporters. The first win as well was very important, and happy that next week we are going to play again at home.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub