Unai Emery says Aston Villa are contenders to win the FA Cup after progressing to the quarter-finals for the first time in a decade, but doesn’t believe they should be considered as a favourite.
A Marco Asensio second-half double saw off Championship side Cardiff, who had defended manfully before conceding for the first time on 67 minutes.
Marcus Rashford pulled the ball back for Asensio to break the deadlock before the Spaniard doubled his and Villa’s tally after being picked out by Leon Bailey in the 80th minute.
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"The players performed fantastic," Emery told the BBC. "At home with our football we are comfortable. We respected the opponent.
"We were creating chances but not clinical. The second half was still difficult to beat them. We scored one goal. After that it was more easy to dominate and try to score a second goal to finish the match.
"We have our experiences last year in Europe. Today playing against a Championship team, being better than them, trying to respect them because you can lose a match even if you're better than the opponent."
Discussing his match-winner, Emery added: "We need him. We need Rashford. We need the players who joined in the last window. We need the players coming back from injury. Every player will be necessary for the matches in the next weeks and months.
"Now we focus on the Champions League. We are there and we have to enjoy it and compete. We are going to play Brentford next week. It's a tough week but excited for us and supporters."
However, looking ahead to the quarter-final and possible progress in the FA Cup, Emery said: "We are not considered favourites to win this trophy. We are contenders but not favourites.
“We are in the quarter-finals and it is a step forward in the competition. Some teams are out but some are more favourites than us, like Man City, Man United and Newcastle. But it is a way to get prestige for our club.”
