Unai Emery became the quickest of the three men to have reached 100 victories as Aston Villa manager when his side defeated Lille in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

The Spaniard, who is aiming to win the competition for a record-extending fifth time, has made Villa a force at home and in Europe since being appointed in October 2022.

The 54-year-old has the best win ratio in the club's history at 55.2% and is one of only three Premier League managers to triumph 100 times during the time he has been at Villa Park.

The other two above him in that regard are his compatriots Pep Guardiola (137) and Mikel Arteta (118).

While Emery brushed off the landmark after the match in France, the numbers alone do the talking for the former Sevilla and Villarreal boss, who returned to England with something to prove following his dismissal by Arsenal in 2019.

His tally of 100 wins from 181 games eclipses the most successful manager in the club's history - Ron Saunders, who reached the century mark at the end 1977-78, his fourth season in charge.

Saunders, who led the Villans out of the old second division, twice won the League Cup, delivered the club's first top-flight title for 71 years in 1980-81 and was at the helm at the start of a memorable 1981-82 campaign that ended with European Cup glory.

Joe Mercer, who won promotion back to the top flight and oversaw a League Cup triumph between 1958-64, was manager for four-and-a-half years before clocking up the 100th of his 119 wins at the helm.

During the period when the team was selected by a management committee each week, George Ramsay (1884–1926) took 190 games to get to 100 wins, while WJ Smith (1926–34) needed 205 matches.

By comparison, Emery has achieved his century milestone in three years and four months, with his sequence getting under way with a 3-1 win over Manchester United in November 2022.

Villa gain 'building block' in France

Villa's decision to go for Emery four years ago was a sign of their ambition to make a mark on the European stage.

While they are still well placed in fourth position in the English top flight, as they aim to secure a Champions League berth next term, success in the Europa League would also deliver the same outcome.

However, on Thursday it was just about recapturing their rhythm and some confidence after a winless run of four games domestically that included defeats to Newcastle, Chelsea and bottom club Wolves.

Speaking to TNT Sports, returning captain John McGinn suggested that the result had provided Villa with a "building block" and the opportunity to "reset" after a difficult few weeks.

"We needed a reset. The past month has not been great," he said.

"We can't dwell on it. We can learn from it but what we need to do is build and this is a building block. We know we can do a lot better but it is a good result.

"We showed signs of getting back to our best but there's still a long way to go. Sunday is a massive game in the league as well [at third-placed Manchester United] so it is a tough run of fixtures, but that was a good start.

Meanwhile, Emery said he used the struggles of their Premier League rivals in the Champions League as a motivational tool before kick-off.

He said: "We respect this competition because we know the difficulties of each match away from home in Europe.

"We know how it is for the English teams, like this week in the Champions League, how they were struggling." (BBC)