Aston Villa: Sky Sports pundit blown away by what ‘wonderful’ Leon Bailey did in win v Bournemouth
Aston Villa managed to massively boost their hopes of Champions League qualification with an excellent 3-1 win against Bournemouth.
Goals from Morgan Rogers, Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey ensured that Unai Emery’s side extended their lead over fifth-placed Tottenham to seven points with another excellent home display at Villa Park on Sunday (21 April).
While most pundits were quick to heap praise on Rogers for his excellent performance from the left-wing, Sky Sports pundit Courtney Sweetman-Kirk was left blown away by a “wonderful” pass from Bailey in the first half.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Sunday (21 April) she said: “I mentioned Diaby earlier how he impacts defensively so well. Yet again he wins the ball back and finds Leon Bailey who plays a wonderful ball through Morgan Rogers who is in the middle of the pitch.
“The weight on it is absolutely perfect.”
Leon Bailey and Aston Villa take massive step towards Champions League football with win v Bournemouth
The Jamaica international was absolutely electric from the right flank. In possession, he carried a constant threat as he managed to complete 86 per cent of his passes, eight of which found a teammate in the final third, according to Fotmob.
Bailey created more goalscoring chances than any other player on either side as he laid on six opportunities for his teammates in claret and blue, including the pass to supply Rogers with his second Premier League goal.
Bailey could hardly have missed his chance as it had an xG of 0.99 as he tapped in on the goalline, but it saw him reach double digits for goals in the Premier League for the first time in his Aston Villa career.
Throughout the campaign so far, Bailey has managed to consistently over-perform his expected goals to become a real all-round attacking threat.
Despite sitting in the 60th percentile of midfielders for xG per 90 minutes, the winger places in the 86th percentile for non-penalty goals scored per game, according to Fbref.
Away from his goal, the 26-year-old completed 100 per cent of his three attempted long passes as he helped Vila quickly counterattack. Perhaps the only criticism of his display was the fact he failed to complete any of his crosses.
When compared to other players in the Premier League, the winger places in the top three per cent of his positional peers for assists per 90 minutes. Few players are as creative in the final third as the Villa star.
Defensively, Bailey worked just as hard without the ball as he registered an excellent seven ball recoveries and contested three ground duels. He really shone in the final third, but he wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work.
Will Villa keep Leon Bailey during the summer transfer window at Villa Park?
Bailey has gone from an ineffective winger that most supporters wanted to see the back off under Steven Gerrard, to one of the Premier League’s most exciting forwards under the management of Emery.
That form won’t have gone unnoticed by other sides and teams will almost certainly be lining up to try and tempt him away from Villa Park, but Emery has to do all that he can to keep the 26-year-old in Birmingham.
While Emery does like to rotate his forward options, Bailey has to be undroppable between now and the end of the season. He could single-handedly help Villa qualify for the Champions League.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has been tipped to sign Ben Johnson on a free contract this summer as he is unhappy with his options
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