'Satisfaction is high': Aston Villa boss Unai Emery speaks of respect for Burnley following last-gasp win

Douglas Luiz’s 89th minute penalty handed Emery’s men the three points as they battled their way to a 3-2 victory at Villa Park.

It was a dramatic game often mired in controversy, with Burnley ending the game with 10 men after Sander Berge was dismissed for two yellow cards.

But Emery was pleased with how his side stuck to the gameplan to pick up the three points, which momentarily takes them level with league leaders Liverpool.

"It was very important after our last two matches without points like we want,” he said.

"It was very important to be here with our supporters. We did very good work, we struggled in some moments. I respect Burnley a lot because they are doing a lot of good work.

“We were respecting because they won at Fulham, drew against Brighton and we knew before the match we needed to be focused.

"The goals, VAR and the red card in the second half, they were close to getting something and we had to push until the last minute but we carried on doing our idea and in the end we got the penalty. Winning in the last moment with some emotion, sometimes it is important.

"It is very difficult, we are very happy we are being competitive and at home we feel very strong with our support. Every match is difficult, the Premier League is the most difficult league in the world.

“The satisfaction is high because we finished the year at home and got the points. We were focused for 90 minutes in case the difficulties were coming and we reacted very well.

“We continued our gameplan and emotionally, we kept our mentality.”

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany branded the decision to award Villa a late penalty as “soft”.

When asked if he thought it was a penalty when Jhon Duran went to ground under the challenge of Aaron Ramsey, Emery said: “I didn’t watch but always respect the decision of the referees, whether it is for against us.

“I was believing in our shooter [Luiz]. Before he took two corners very badly and I was thinking, now you have to correct that.”