By John Townley
Copyright birminghammail
Unai Emery insists Harvey Elliott will need more time to adapt to his team but praised Emi Buendia’s attitude and commitment after he played a key role in Aston Villa’s first league win of the season. Buendia scored his first Premier League goal in 925 days, extending Villa’s lead against Fulham to 3-1 in the 51st minute, just moments after assisting John McGinn’s goal, which had completed the comeback. Raul Jimenez opened the scoring in the third minute, before Ollie Watkins restored parity in the 37th. Elliott, who made his first league start for Villa on Sunday, was replaced at half-time by Buendia, a move Emery later confirmed was a tactical decision. “He needs to adapt in everything, but I changed him not because he was playing bad,” Emery explained. “He was playing good, but I changed him thinking about the energy Emi Buendia gives us in that moment, and his skills as well. “He has to continue working, preparing and adapting of us, understanding everything, then using our quality in his structure.” Then, speaking to Sky Sports, Emery said of Elliott: “Keep going, for him and I change him more tactically because Emiliano Buendia is giving us energy and his adaptation is better than Elliott. He needs time, Elliott. Emiliano did fantastic.” Back to his press conference, Emery hailed Buendia’s commitment and work ethic, which he says he shows not only in today’s win but every day at Bodymoor Heath. “The most important thing for the players and Emiliano is his commitment,” the Villa boss said. “He did not want to leave. He had the possibility to leave, but he wanted to stay. “He wanted to involve and take the commitment of working at Aston Villa. He is showing it every day here at Aston Villa. “In the second half, after he played on Thursday, he tried to get his best through his energy and qualities. He is versatile as well. “He scored, fantastic. He helped us, and I think he is going to be important, very important, hopefully.” Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here . You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here . Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here , while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here .
