Aston Villa’s 7/10 sensation was better than Watkins vs Ipswich
By Ross Kilvington
24 – 30 minutes
Aston Villa
4
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Ollie-Watkins
Aston Villa failed to take advantage of Ipswich Town receiving a red card in the first half as Unai Emery’s side had to battle to take a point in the clash at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
More dropped points won’t help their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next year, as the Midlands outfit currently occupy ninth place in the Premier League table, trailing Manchester City in fourth by six points.
Of course, they can still claw this back, but they will have to make up some ground between now and May to do so. That means as few mistakes and dropped points as possible.
The club enjoyed a solid transfer window and with Emery leading his squad on three fronts, he will have to rotate wisely.
Ollie Watkins proved to be the hero on Saturday, scoring a late equaliser against the Tractor Boys.
Ollie Watkins got Aston Villa out of jail
Watkins’ effort was his 70th Premier League goal scored during his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
When Ipswich went down to ten men, it looked as though the home side could take full advantage, yet Liam Delap scored with just over 30 minutes remaining to throw a spanner in the works.
Aston Villa vs Ipswich Town – Key Statistics
Metric
Highest-Ranked
Accurate passes
Youri Tielemans (88)
Key passes
Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers (4)
Tackles
Omari Hutchinson (5)
Ground duels won
Marcus Rashford (7)
Shots on target
Morgan Rogers (2)
Via Sofascore
Marcus Rashford’s free-kick smashed back off the crossbar, right into the path of Watkins, who duly converted and this goal secured a 1-1 draw.
While he was the man who rescued a point, it was Youri Tielemans who was arguably the true hero for Emery due to his stunning performance in the heart of the midfield.
Youri Tielemans’ game in numbers vs Ipswich
The Belgian midfielder controlled the game from the heart of the pitch against Ipswich, succeeding with 91% of his passes and taking 114 touches, exerting his control over the game.
FFC Performance in Numbers
Despite this, the club couldn’t secure all three points. Tielemans also made three key passes, succeeded with 75% of his dribbles, won eight of his 11 total duels contested, and made one tackle.
This shows that he contributed to Villa’s play in and out of possession, whilst Watkins just had his goal, and that is why he was even better than the England international.
Youri-Tielemans
The former Leicester City star is now one of the key members of Emery’s squad. Journalist John Townley gave the player a match rating of 7/10 for his display on Saturday, stating ‘Ipswich’s red card limited his ability to pick the lock, but he was still the glue in midfield and helped Villa sustain pressure.’
Perhaps if he had faced a full team, Tielemans may have been more productive in the final third, but he was certainly Villa’s finest player on the day.
Villa next play Liverpool at home in midweek, a game in which the Reds will be keen to take all three points to bolster their title aspirations.
If Emery’s side plays how they did against Ipswich, Liverpool will win comfortably, no doubt about that.
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