Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "lost a really good opportunity" to secure their place in next season's Champions League after losing to Fulham.

Villa lost 1-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with Ryan Sessegnon's 43rd-minute strike proving to be the difference.

After winning each of their five Premier League games against sides from London between September and December 27, Villa have since won just one of their last six versus teams from the capital (D1 L4).

Villa remain just eight points ahead of sixth-placed Brighton with four games to go, with their Champions League spot still not confirmed.

And Emery now anticipates a tough week ahead, facing Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final before hosting Tottenham in the Premier League.

"We have lost a really good opportunity, the players did everything we were planning but we needed to be more clinical," Emery told TNT Sports.

"The match was pretty even - sometimes for us sometimes for them. We created a few chances to score, it was very difficult.

"They have good players and coach and to beat teams like Fulham is for us something we must work on because that can happen.

"It's going to be very difficult. My message is the same - keep going, keep trying to get better each week."

When converting for three points for a win, with 48 points from their 34 games so far this season, Fulham have amassed their third-highest points tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign after 1959-60 and 2024-25.

Joachim Anderson recorded four tackles, four interceptions and seven clearances in this match, becoming the first Fulham player to hit those tallies in a Premier League game since Sasha Reither versus Chelsea in November 2012.

Fulham boss Marco Silva hailed his side's impressive defensive display against Villa, as the Cottagers chase a European place.

"A great win for us. A massive three points," Silva told TNT Sports.

"We knew before the match it was like a must-win game for us if you want to keep competing for something special until the end of the season and keep us around the places for European competition.

"To keep them with zero goals in a game, with the capacity they have, I'm very pleased. We kept them very quiet."