Villa defeated Fenerbahce 1-0 in Türkiye to secure a top-eight finish in the league stage with a game to spare.
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On Sunday, the Spaniard warned that Villa is “not a top-five contender” after losing 1-0 at home to Everton.
If Villa finish outside the top four of the Premier League – or the top five if England earn an extra place in the standings – their only hope of playing in the Champions League next season will be to win the Europa League.
Former Sevilla, Arsenal and Paris St-Germain manager Emery won the Europa League a record four times as a manager, most recently with Villarreal in 2021, and on Thursday he was officiating in his 100th game in the competition.
He told the media that “we have clear objectives in this competition: to be a contender for a trophy” after his team’s victory in Istanbul.
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“(We want) to be a contender in case we need this trophy to play in the Champions League. Through our league it is very difficult,” he added.
“I dream of being here winning trophies and Europe is one of the objectives we have this year.”
Despite being the seventh most successful club in English football by trophies won, Villa’s last major piece was the League Cup in 1996.
It’s good to have a coach who supports you – Sancho
Aston Villa are in excellent form.
They have won 20 of their last 25 games (D1, L4) and only Arsenal (21) have won more among teams in Europe’s big five leagues during that period.
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Their stumble on Sunday against Everton meant they missed the chance to move second, four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, Emery’s former club.
He made six changes against Fenerbahce and his team dominated, with a score of 1-0 that flattered the 28-time Turkish champion.
After the match, Emery praised his players for “respecting” the competition and added that he was “very, very happy” with their response.
Jadon Sancho, scorer of Villa’s victory, scored his first goal for the club in his 19th game since arriving on loan from Manchester United in September.
“It’s good to have a manager who has your back and obviously believes in you,” said the 25-year-old striker who has not played for United since August 2024 and whose United contract expires this summer.
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“He (Emery) keeps telling me to be positive every time I play. Every chance I get, I will try to do it 100% and hopefully I can score goals.”
Sancho has only started two Premier League games this season, but in the Europa League he has been in Villa’s starting line-up in each of their last five games.
Villa have played 12 times since the beginning of December and, by guaranteeing a top-eight finish in the league stage, avoided a two-leg playoff in February.
Emery still played with forward Ollie Watkins for the full 90 minutes on Thursday and star midfielder Morgan Rogers for 74 minutes.
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He was also able to give Tyrone Mings his first start since November after the defender recovered from a thigh injury.
Amadou Onana, who has been out with a hamstring problem, also had a late cameo off the bench and is another key returning player.
“(We are) building the team with some circumstances that are not helping us,” Emery told TNT Sports.
“But next week we will be able to finalize the transfer window and hopefully we will be able to get everything we need to complete the team for the next few months and the competitions we have.”