Aston Villa: Gary Lineker and Jermaine Jenas awestruck by Ollie Watkins v Sheff United
Gary Lineker and Jermaine Jenas were awestruck by the performance of Ollie Watkins for Aston Villa against Sheffield United on Saturday (3 February).
The England international scored the second goal for Villa and laid on two assists for his teammates as his side cruised to a 5-0 victory at Bramall Lane.
Presenter Lineker and pundit Jenas were massively impressed by the 28-year-old forward on Match of the Day on Saturday (41:10), with the latter labelling him as “different class” against the Blades.
Gary Lineker was wowed by the performance of Ollie Watkins
“Fabulous performance from Aston Villa,” said Lineker. “You could’ve picked a number of players out, but three assists (officially recorded as two) and a goal from Ollie Watkins.”
“He was different class today,” added Jenas. “I think every now and again you strike these partnerships with midfielders and, today, himself and Douglas Luiz were just telepathic, they really were. Every time he picks up this ball Douglas Luiz, he’s off, Ollie Watkins, he knows exactly what the midfield man wants to do.
“There’s some lovely sides to Ollie Watkins. The runs are one thing, but he’s always alive. I also think the intelligence of his runs have massively improved since Unai Emery has arrived. He’s bending his runs, arcing his runs, he hits that one onto the post.”
“I think it’s playing within the box, not wide,” said Lineker.
“Yeah, way more narrow,” replied Jenas. “That ball from Douglas Luiz, it’s out of this world, it really is. That’s a striker playing with real confidence, touch and finish.”
“What a beauty,” added Lineker.
Villa needed Watkins on form against Sheffield United as they looked to bounce back from their disappointing 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United on 30 January and that’s exactly what he was.
It truly was a top-class performance from the forward as he ran the Blades’ defence ragged from the first minute until the last.
After he was unfortunate to see an early effort come back off the post, which John McGinn tapped in on the rebound, he went on to grab a goal of his own and helped Leon Bailey and Alex Moreno get on the scoresheet.
Ollie Watkins was on form against Sheffield United
The Englishman registered a 66 per cent shot accuracy as two of his three attempts hit the target in the convincing victory at Bramall Lane [SofaScore].
While his pass success rate was down a little bit at 74 per cent from his season average of 76 per cent, he did make two key passes throughout the game.
He also won both of his duels in the air as he showed his capabilities in challenging defenders as well as when he’s making dangerous runs in behind.
Watkins was on hand to do his defensive duties for the Villans as well, having cleared one goal-bound effort off the line.
It was an all-round superb performance from the forward and he’ll be pleased to have got on the scoresheet again after suffering a mini drought before the Newcastle game.
Emery will be delighted to have his biggest goal threat back to his best as he’s going to be crucial in the club’s bid to qualify for the Champions League this season.
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