Aston Villa have progressed to the UEFA Conference League quarterfinals after a 4-0 win over Ajax on Thursday.
After the match, Ajax’s Jordan Henderson told Vandaag Inside that he wasn’t distracted by boos from Villa supporters during the game.
The 33-year-old joined the Eredivisie side from Al-Ettifaq in the winter market, months after leaving Liverpool. The clash against Aston Villa saw him return to England and it ended up in disappointment for him and his team.
Vandaag Inside pointed out that he didn’t receive a warm welcome at Aston Villa and asked whether that affected him.
He said: “No, that’s football at the end of the day. Villa are a fantastic club, fantastic fans. Great team. I wish them all the best.”
After the first leg in Amsterdam ended in a goalless draw last week, Ollie Watkins gave Unai Emery’s side the lead in the first half yesterday.
The former Sunderland man insists the Dutch club were still in the game until Aston Villa doubled the lead in the second half, six minutes before Sivert Mannsverk was sent off.
“It was a tough night, in a lot of ways. I don’t really know what to say because it’s tough. I felt at 1-0, we were still in the game still, especially in the first half. We ended the first half well,” Henderson explained.
“Second half, I thought we were still in the game at 1-0, and then we conceded. Red card, two or three injuries, and everything seems to go wrong from that moment. So, it’s really difficult to put it into words.”
The England international also praised the Premier League side when asked if the red card and second goal were the key moments in the game.
“You got to give Villa the credit. They managed the game really well. I think you could see the difference in experience with the teams tonight and how they managed the game,” he added.
