Emery suffered another Nou Camp nightmare on his 55th birthday as Lamine Yamal’s early opener and a second-half double from Raphinha made it 15 losses from 16 games at Barcelona’s home.

This was supposed to be a red letter day for the club and was watched by super fan Prince William – a reward for their excellent progress in the four years of Emery’s reign.

The Spaniard has taken Villa from the lower reaches of the Premier League to the Champions League in just four years, but knows his side still have some way to go.

“The test was definitely not in the level we want to achieve but there are a lot of things to learn, a lot of experience for the players and us,” he said.

“It is giving me a lot of information to analyse and compete at this level.

“Overall, we are competing fantastically in the Champions League, although playing the match we played we have work to do to get to this level (of Barcelona).

“We were sometimes achieving it and close to scoring goals but we must be ruthless in the attacking third, 3-0 is maybe more than we deserved but we accept the defeat.

“There’s still work to do to get to this level. During the match, we were close to scoring goals because we had chances, but we must be ruthless in the attacking third.”

Villa gifted Yamal his opener when playing a goal-kick out from the back went badly wrong – with goalkeeper Zion Suzuki offering up another three chances with some wayward passing.

Emery defended it by saying “that’s our style” and then had to watch Europe’s hottest marksman Raphinha add two more to take his tally to 19 in 13 matches this season.

The Brazilian dedicated his two goals to the family of Jesus de Miguel after the Tenerife player died on Tuesday morning following a sickening collision in a match on Monday night.

The former Leeds forward said: “Sorry, tonight I don’t want to talk about football. It’s clear that I want to dedicate this win to the fans, but I want to send a lot of strength to Jesus de Miguel’s family.

“May he rest in peace. In the end, this can happen to anyone. The truth is that it’s very tough… when we saw the news this morning, it was complicated. I’m incredibly shocked and sad.

“In the end, you go to play a match, and the same thing could happen to you. From myself, from the club, we want to send a lot of strength to his family.”

Barca boss Hansi Flick added: “We are playing against a fantastic team, and it is a big moment for them.

“Emery is one of the best coaches in Europe. He has a clear idea of how to play in offence and defence, and I appreciate a lot of what I see.

“It is the Champions League, and every game is special. Every opponent in the Champions League has quality as well.”