View: Three things learned from Aston Villa win v Southampton
Aston Villa continued their fine form under Unai Emery with a 1-0 away victory against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday evening.
Ollie Watkins’ second-half goal was enough for the Villans to secure an impressive victory and cement their position in the Premier League.
Here Villa News takes a look at three things we learnt from the narrow win against Nathan Jones’ side.
Solid
Clean sheets are a huge part of the modern game and the Villans are becoming a stubborn side to break down. Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Ashley Young and Emi Martinez are now a staple of the Villans’ defence and the consistency is proving to be key for Emery’s side.
Alex Moreno has also adapted to life well in the Premier League and if the five players mentioned can stay fit – Villa will have an excellent chance of finishing in the top half of the table come May.
Clinical Watkins
After the departure of Danny Ings, all eyes are now on Watkins to be Aston Villa’s main threat – and against the Saints he proved to be the vital difference between the two teams.
His finishing has been hit and miss in the 2022/23 campaign and it’s now time for the 27-year-old to go on a consistent run of goalscoring form for the Villans. Ings was superb for Villa during his relatively short stay at the club and if the club don’t sign another attacker, all eyes will be on the former Brentford man.
Settled
Since Emery’s arrival it’s been a consistent starting eleven and he’s quickly realised where the success in this team is coming from. A consistent back four and midfield pairing is proving to be the basis of Aston Villa’s good form and long may it continue.
The challenge for 51-year-old is to now fine-tune his squad in the remaining days of the January window and ensure he is content with his squad moving forward. After Villa’s dismal start under Steven Gerrard, this could still turn out to be a successful season.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.