Unai Emery explains why he left Old Trafford before Manchester United equaliser

Unai Emery has explained that the timing of Manchester United’s fourth goal, rather than frustration or a belief it was unfair, prompted him to leave Old Trafford before the final whistle in Aston Villa’s 4-4 draw.

Manchester United scored in the 96th minute to complete the comeback, with the goal being checked by the video assistant referee as Emery was seen walking away from the pitch.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the Aston Villa manager was asked whether the result exposed inexperience or a lack of maturity in his squad, and whether the players would learn from the match.

“I don’t know,” Emery replied.

The Spanish coach was also asked about Aston Villa’s previous record and the weight of history when playing at Old Trafford.

“We are following our way, and we can be positive even with this defeat,” he said.

Questions then turned to his decision to leave the pitch while the VAR review of Manchester United’s fourth goal was taking place. Emery appeared surprised that the incident continued to attract attention.

“They scored a goal in the 96th minute!” he said.

Asked whether his reaction had been driven by emotion, Emery rejected that suggestion and pointed to the announced amount of added time.

“There was no emotion. They scored in the 96th minute, six minutes were added, and I thought the match was about to finish,” he said.

Emery also denied that he had walked away because he considered Manchester United’s goal to be an unfair one. Instead, he again stressed the timing of the goal and when play restarted.

“They scored the goal in the 96th minute. You were asking why I left before that, because at 96 minutes and 30 seconds was the moment we started the kick-off,” he said.

He ended the exchange with a light-hearted reference to the difficulty he sometimes has expressing himself in English.

“My English is very poor, but is that clear or not?” Emery said.

The result left the match finely balanced after a late swing in momentum, with Manchester United scoring their fourth goal deep into stoppage time to deny Aston Villa victory.

Aston Villa are listed to face Sunderland in the Premier League on 21 November 2026. Liverpool are listed to play Manchester United in the Premier League on 22 November 2026.