Aston Villa boss Unai Emery thinks his side could have blown their chances of earning automatic qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League after losing 1-0 at Monaco.
Villa are now precariously balanced in eighth, propped up by only their superior goal difference, after previously being primed to avoid the play-off knockout stage.
They host Celtic on Wednesday January 29 in their final league phase fixture but Emery believes their top-eight hopes might be over.
“When we are playing games like today, it’s important to get three points because I think we lost the opportunity to get in the top eight,” said Emery.
“Today was the key.”
The two teams were separated by eight places heading into the clash at the Stade Louis II but this was quickly minimised to two spots, either side of the top eight, thanks to Wilfried Singo’s header inside the first 10 minutes.Tyrone Mings’ unforced error led to a corner being given for the hosts and despite a stunning save from Emiliano Martinez to deny Thilo Kehrer initially, the Argentina goalkeeper could do nothing about the rebound. (SkySports)