Unai Emery has explained why he walked off the Old Trafford pitch before the final whistle of Aston Villa's 4-4 draw with Manchester United, a decision that raised eyebrows after the hosts grabbed their fourth goal in the 96th minute.
Speaking to "Sky Sports" after the match, the Spaniard was asked whether the result exposed his side's inexperience and youth, and whether the game offered a lesson to learn from. "I don't know," he replied.
Pressed on Aston Villa's history and past results at Old Trafford, Emery said: "We are going our own way, and we can be positive even with this defeat".
Then came the questions about his early exit. Cameras had caught him heading down the tunnel while the video assistant referee reviewed United's fourth goal. Emery seemed baffled that the point kept coming up: "They scored a goal in the 96th minute!".
Asked whether emotion got the better of him, he hit back: "There is no emotion at all, they scored in the 96th minute, and 6 minutes of added time had been awarded, and I thought the match was about to end".
Did he think the goal was unfair? Emery said no, insisting the timing was the real issue. "They scored the goal in the 96th minute, you were asking why I left before that, because 96 minutes and 30 seconds was the moment we started the kick-off," he said.
The Villa boss signed off with a joke at his own expense, poking fun at his command of English: "My English is very poor, but is this clear or not?".