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Unai Emery issues blunt statement as he reacts to Ollie Watkins’ interview after Marcus Rashford decision
Nasir Jabbar
12 – 16 minutes
Unai Emery issues blunt statement as he reacts to Ollie Watkins’ interview after Marcus Rashford decision Unai Emery issues blunt statement as he reacts to Ollie Watkins’ interview after Marcus Rashford decision
Updated 19:47 22 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 19:37 22 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Unai Emery has shared his thoughts on dropping Ollie Watkins for Marcus Rashford.
Unai Emery has reacted to Ollie Watkins’ extraordinary interview after making a big Marcus Rashford decision for Aston Villa’s game against Manchester City.
Villa resume their Premier League campaign against Man City as they push for Champions League qualification.
They are coming off a stunning victory over Newcastle United, having beaten their rivals 4-1 at Villa Park last weekend.
Watkins led the line and wasted no time in making an impact as he opened the scoring inside the very first minute.
He also set up Ian Maatsen for their second goal in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance.
After the game, Watkins slammed Emery as he expressed his frustration at being dropped for his side’s Champions League fixtures against Paris Saint-Germain, with Rashford getting the nod for both matches.
Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring against Newcastle United. Image: Getty Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring against Newcastle United. Image: Getty
Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring against Newcastle United. Image: Getty
Watkins told Sky Sports: “Champions League, we’ve put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position.
“I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing.
“I let him (Emery) know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.”
Emery has once again rotated his team’s attack for their clash against Man City.
He has opted to start with Rashford, dropping Watkins to the bench following his post-match outburst.
Sky Sports Premier League
“Collectively, it’s how we plan 90 minutes.” Unai Emery on why he’s started Marcus Rashford over Ollie Watkins 🔁
Speaking ahead of kick-off, Emery was asked about his decision to start with Rashford and Watkins’ frustrations to which he replied: “Collectively, it’s our preparation and how we are planning for 90 minutes.”
On the match, the Villa boss added: “The match today, game 34, and we are looking to play for three points. Being consistent in the Premier League is the most important. Today the demand will be so huge, to try to dominate the match offensively and get duels and get confidence and feel comfortable.”
This season, Watkins has scored 16 goals across all competitions, including 15 league goals.
He bagged 27 goals last season.
Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Unai Emery, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Football
Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar
Ollie Watkins ‘to be used’ in sensational summer deal nobody saw coming after slamming Unai Emery in extraordinary post-match interviewOllie Watkins ‘to be used’ in sensational summer deal nobody saw coming after slamming Unai Emery in extraordinary post-match interview
Published 10:28 20 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Ollie Watkins ‘to be used’ in sensational summer deal nobody saw coming after slamming Unai Emery in extraordinary post-match interview
Ollie Watkins starred as Aston Villa beat Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
Aston Villa man Ollie Watkins has reportedly been linked with a huge summer transfer.
On Saturday, Watkins started for Unai Emery’s team as they battered Newcastle United at Villa Park.
Goals from Watkins, Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana, plus an own goal from Dan Burn, sealed a 4-1 win. Fabian Schar was the scorer for the visitors.
Speaking after the match, Watkins revealed he was furious with manager Emery for not starting him against Paris Saint Germain in midweek.
He told Sky Sports: “Champions League, we’ve put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position. I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing. I let him (Emery) know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision.
“But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench. It’s something I haven’t experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League.”
Now, a report has emerged claiming Watkins could leave Villa in the summer.
As reported by the Daily Star, Manchester United are considering an offer of cash plus Marcus Rashford in exchange for Watkins.
Rashford has impressed since leaving United for Villa Park on loan during the January transfer window.
As a result, United could now use Rashford as a makeweight in a bid to bring Watkins, who has previously been linked with Arsenal, to Old Trafford.
Ollie Watkins has been linked with a move away from Aston Villa. Image: Getty
Ollie Watkins has been linked with a move away from Aston Villa. Image: Getty
So far in the 24/25 season, Watkins has managed 16 goals and 13 assists in 48 matches across all competitions for Villa.
Currently, Watkins is contracted with Villa until 2028 but has been linked with a departure on multiple occasions.
Further expanding on his disappointment of starting on the bench against PSG, Watkins continued: “Me and a few others are disappointed we didn’t start the game but like I said, it’s the manager’s decision. We did end up beating them but obviously not across both legs.
“The team played really well but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer. I wanted to be starting in the important games because I’ve played a big part to get to where we are today.”
Villa are back in action on Tuesday night when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Aston Villa, Football, Ollie Watkins, Unai Emery, Manchester United, Marcus Rashford
Marcus Chan
Marcus Chan
Ollie Watkins slams Unai Emery over Marcus Rashford decision in extraordinary post-match interview following Newcastle victoryOllie Watkins slams Unai Emery over Marcus Rashford decision in extraordinary post-match interview following Newcastle victory
Updated 19:43 20 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 20:33 19 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Ollie Watkins slams Unai Emery over Marcus Rashford decision in extraordinary post-match interview following Newcastle victory
The Aston Villa star clearly wasn’t happy with his manager following the huge win.
Ollie Watkins has hit out at Aston Villa manager Unai Emery over his decision to play Marcus Rashford in the Champions League.
On Saturday evening, Aston Villa secured a season-defining win as they beat Newcastle United 4-1 at Villa Park, leaving them level on points with Nottingham Forest who occupy the fifth Champions League spot.
Ahead of the game, some fans were shocked to see striker Watkins included in the lineup after he was dropped for teammate Rashford for the Champions League clashes with Paris Saint-Germain.
But the Englishman was quick to silence his doubters, as he opened the scoring just a minute into the match, before going off on his manager in his post-match interview.
Despite a hard-fought second leg at Villa Park, the Birmingham club were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by PSG, losing the 5-4 on aggregate.
Watkins was named on the bench for both matches, getting just 33 minutes in total to make an impact across the two games, and he’s not happy about it.
Speaking after the massive win over Newcastle, Watkins told Sky Sports: “Champions League, we’ve put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position.
“I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing.
“I let him (Emery) know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.”
Ollie Watkins scored the opening goal for Aston Villa during their win over Newcastle United. (Image: Getty)
Ollie Watkins scored the opening goal for Aston Villa during their win over Newcastle United. (Image: Getty)
He added: “It’s something I haven’t experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League.
“Me and a few others are disappointed we didn’t start the game but like I said, it’s the manager’s decision.
“We did end up beating them but obviously not across both legs. The team played really well but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer. I wanted to be starting in the important games because I’ve played a big part to get to where we are today.”
Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Unai Emery, Champions League, Marcus Rashford, Football, Premier League
Ben McCrum
Ben McCrum
Fans think Unai Emery made major mistake against PSG but they’re quickly proven wrongFans think Unai Emery made major mistake against PSG but they’re quickly proven wrong
Updated 21:21 15 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 20:42 15 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Fans think Unai Emery made major mistake against PSG but they’re quickly proven wrong
Villa conceded two early goals against PSG at Villa Park – but fired back into the contest in style.
Fans think Unai Emery made one key mistake ahead of Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final second leg – that then turned into a masterstroke soon after.
Villa went 2-0 down inside 30 minutes through goals from PSG full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.
Both goals came from counter attacks and exposed defensive frailties from the hosts, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez making an error for the first goal before Villa were caught with too many players up the pitch for the second.
But Villa fans think Emery’s main selection error came in the attacking third.
The hosts did pull a goal back through Youri Tielemans to make it 5-2 on aggregate before half-time.
There were question marks raised over why top scorer Ollie Watkins, nor star attacking midfielder Marco Asensio were picked in the starting line-up.
Watkins was suffering from a knee injury around the international break but has returned to full fitness, and said on Monday that he was ‘not happy’ with his recent regular cameos from the bench.
Emery instead picked the in-form Marcus Rashford up front, but fans thought that space could have at least been made for the pair of them and fellow attacker Morgan Rogers.
One fan wrote: “I don’t see why Emery is making Rashford and Watkins rotate up front, instead of starting both together. Obvious attack would surely be Rashford, Asensio, Rogers behind Watkins.”
A second said: “Ollie Watkins not starting in Villa’s biggest game of the season is mental.”
A third asked: “Why’s Unai Emery benching Marco Asensio in back-to-back games?”
A fourth wrote: “He has to get Asensio and Watkins on now.”
Amazon Prime Video Sport
EZRI KONSA GRABS VILLA’S THIRD 😱 The hosts are now just one goal from levelling the tie #UCLonPrime
As it turned out, Villa fired into action in the second half, with John McGinn equalising on the night for the home side.
Ezri Konsa then made it 3-1 just minutes later via an incredible Rashford run and assist.
With Watkins and Asensio still to come off the bench, Emery may just have made one of the best calls of the season despite initial complaints.
Featured Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video
Topics: Unai Emery, Aston Villa, Champions League, Marcus Rashford, PSG, Fan Reactions
Ryan Smart
Ryan Smart
Aston Villa star admits he’s ‘unhappy’ with current situation after Marcus Rashford’s move from Man UtdAston Villa star admits he’s ‘unhappy’ with current situation after Marcus Rashford’s move from Man Utd
Updated 09:47 20 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 15:59 14 Apr 2025 GMT+1
Aston Villa star admits he’s ‘unhappy’ with current situation after Marcus Rashford’s move from Man Utd
He has spoken out.
Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has admitted he is unhappy with his current role at the club ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG.
Watkins has had to get used to life on the bench in recent weeks, with Unai Emery preferring Marcus Rashford up top in all but one of Villa’s last five games.
The former Brentford man’s new role comes at a crucial stage of the season with Villa battling to stay in this season’s Champions League, as well as qualify for next season’s competition.
Watkins vents frustrations over game time
With Watkins now second in line after returning from a knee injury, the forward has hit out at Unai Emery and revealed he is not happy with the situation.
“For me, I’m not happy to sit on the bench. It’s disappointing every game that I’m on the bench, but it’s the manager’s decision at the end of the day,” he explained ahead of PSG’s trip to Villa Park via Goal.
Watkins is also just one goal away from matching Gabby Agbonlohor’s 74 Premier League goals for the club and admitted he is desperate to put his name in the history books.
“Am I aware of the record? Of course I am. That is why I wanted to take the penalty as well. To equal it, then one more to get the record. Two more to beat it,” he explained.
However, Watkins’ remains extremely confident in becoming Villa’s top scorer, and has no doubts he will achieve his goal.
He added: “I am thinking of breaking it. I will do it at some point and I’m looking forward to that day.”
Ollie Watkins and Marcus Rashford for Aston Villa- Getty
Ollie Watkins and Marcus Rashford for Aston Villa- Getty
Watkins injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, as it allowed new loan signing Rashford to cement his place as Emery’s first choice.
Rashford has scored three times and grabbed four assists since making the move from Old Trafford, with Watkins going five games without a goal prior to Saturday.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Unai Emery, Champions League, Football, Premier League, Marcus Rashford
Tom Jenkins
Tom Jenkins
