Aston Villa v Ajax: Unai Emery to be fuming as Ollie Watkins suffers injury
Ollie Watkins sustained an injury as Aston Villa secured a 4-0 victory over Ajax in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday, 14 March.
After a goalless first leg, it was a winner-takes-all game at Villa Park and Unai Emery’s side were dominant right from the opening whistle.
However, the Spaniard will surely be fuming and facing an anxious wait as Watkins had to be taken off in the first half with an injury.
As the England international found the back of the net, Jay Bothroyd told Sky Sports News (14 March, 8:30pm): “That was a great header, an unbelievable header. Great run across the near post and he’s just flicked it. That’s not an easy header. It looks an easy header but it’s not.”
Watkins stands tall for Aston Villa despite a quiet half hour
The 28-year-old, after scoring in the 25th minute, could only be on the pitch for eight minutes longer before the medics decided to bring him off.
He did face a scare a few minutes earlier and it remains to be seen if asking him to play on longer has aggravated his injury.
Watkins, who achieved a 100 per cent accuracy on the night, completing his only attempted pass in the game, per Sofascore, struggled to get involved a great deal in proceedings.
He made just four touches in the game and lost his only attempted aerial duel and both of his attempted ground duels.
The 28-year-old even lost possession on two occasions and committed two fouls but these stats are not why Emery will be missing him if he is to be out for a few weeks.
Unai Emery will miss Ollie Watkins if his injury rules him out for a while
According to Fbref, while Watkins has impressed this season in front of goal, finding the back of the net on 18 occasions in all competitions, he’s been equally important to get others into the game.
He averages 0.3 assists per 90 minutes – putting him in the 95th percentile of all strikers in Europe’s top five leagues.
Watkins is also involved in 2.74 shot-creating actions, 0.71 blocks and 0.89 clearances per 90 minutes – all better than most players in his position.
His non-penalty goals (0.56 per 90 minutes) puts him in the 84th percentile – which is impressive – considering he’s not playing at a time that’s challenging for the title.
Without him, Emery will not only miss a focal point but someone who knows what to do without the ball, especially against sides good at retaining possession.
He’s been a menace in transition as well and Emery will hope that the nine-cap England international who’s scored three goals for the Three Lions, is not out for too long.
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