View: Ollie Watkins has to step up – Three things learned from Aston Villa 1-1 Wolves
It was a frustrating evening for Unai Emery and Aston Villa as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Villa Park.
Daniel Podence’s first-half strike was cancelled out by a neat finish from Danny Ings as Villa failed to put together back-to-back wins.
The point means Villa are eleventh in the Premier League and three points behind tenth-placed Chelsea. Here Villa News takes a look at three things we learnt from the draw against Julen Lopetegui’s side.
More clinical
Emery has enjoyed an excellent start to life at Villa Park, but there is now a common theme of his side failing to convert chances which they probably should. Leon Bailey was guilty of missing a golden opportunity at the end of the game to seal the win and he wasn’t alone when it came to failing to put the ball in the net. As per Wyscout, The Villans had ten shots on goal against their rivals with only three of them landing on target.
A good explanation for this is that four of them came from full-backs and one from a defensive midfielder. It’s clear Villa need to get the likes of Ings and Ollie Watkins more involved to give them the best chance of hitting the back of the net.
Ings only needed one chance to draw Villa level and had they managed to get the ball into their clinical frontman more, particularly in the second half, the outcome could have been very different.
Watkins woes
This was a night to forget for Watkins, who was replaced halfway through the second period. The 26-year failed to register a shot and had an expected goals of zero. It’s not outrageous to suggest the England international has to improve, particularly against a side who are struggling down the foot of the table. His overall performance was below par with his ‘total action’ success rate nearly half of his season’s average of 50 per cent.
One touch in the penalty area for a striker is dismal and it would not be a surprise to see the Villa boss try and add to his forward options in the coming weeks. Ings has been linked with a move elsewhere, and if he does depart, Villa cannot rely on Watkins to be their main attacking outlet.
Wake up call
The draw against Wolves should be a wake-up call for a number of these players. Defensively, the Villans were not at the levels they showed against Tottenham, with their defensive duel success rate 20 per cent lower than when they visited North London. Failure to do the basics and win tackles defensively and offensively will make life hard for any team.
Lopetegui’s men were far more effective in winning their battles, and for a side who have been struggling, they were deserving of their point. It’s important this group of players keep their feet on the ground and hopefully, this result will come as a steady reminder of where Aston Villa currently are.
Emery will be acutely aware of the immense task he has on his hands and it’s up to the Spaniard to remind his players that three good results doesn’t mean they’re a top team.
In other Aston Villa news, Gerrard was forced to endure the bus journey home after he was fired.