Ollie Watkins flops in Chelsea defeat, Karen Carney wasn’t impressed with 0% Aston Villa man
Aston Villa suffered a disappointing exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Chelsea, with the latter winning the fourth round replay 3-1 on Wednesday (7 February).
Villa could not have been more confident going into the clash with the Blues, having defeated Sheffield United 5-0 on Saturday (3 February).
But that did come after a 3-1 home defeat to Newcastle United, with Chelsea now dishing out a beating of their own at Villa Park.
The losses have come as a real shock to the home supporters, with Emery having made the venue a force over the last few months.
They welcome Manchester United to the Midlands next time out, with the two clubs set to go head to head in a league clash on Sunday (11 February).
Emery will undoubtedly make changes to his team after their horror show against Chelsea, one of which could involve Ollie Watkins.
Watkins has tough night for Aston Villa
The Villa was isolated against the Blues, with Watkins making just 14 passes, 10 of which were completed [Sofascore].
Moreover, he won just three of his nine duels and completed two of his four dribbles, with zero out of two aerial duels won (0%) during a very frustrating 90 minutes.
The opening 45 minutes were particularly quiet for Emery’s leading man, with Karen Carney noting live on ITV at half-time (8.55, 7 February): “Axel Disasi has got no problem with being in a race with Ollie Watkins. He’s won every ball, any race in behind, any physical battle, and Watkins hasn’t had a sniff tonight.”
Emery does, however, not exactly have many options when it comes to a replacement for his star man, while he will find it very difficult to drop the striker anyway given his feats this season and indeed given how it will be a tough test against Manchester United.
The Red Devils cruised to a 3-0 win against West Ham on Sunday (4 February), with Rasmus Hojlund now looking very settled under Erik ten Hag.
Worryingly for Aston Villa, they have now conceded multiple goals in three consecutive home games, with Squawka (7 February) noting that “cracks are appearing at Villa Park.”
They now need Watkins back firing on all cylinders, with the striker surely set to be eager to add to his stunning tallies of 16 goals and 12 assists this season.
Importantly, he definitely wasn’t the only player to struggle for the home side, while he was certainly starved of service.
In other Aston Villa news, one Villa star produced a 100% stunner in the original FA Cup clash against Chelsea, with Mauricio Pochettino dubbing him “amazing.”
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