Emery decision vindicated as Jhon Duran stinks in Aston Villa draw v Palace
Unai Emery’s decision to start Ollie Watkins was vindicated after Jhon Duran‘s poor substitute showing for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace.
The Villans could only manage a draw on Saturday 23 November, coming back from behind twice to take a point at Villa Park.
Ross Barkley grabbed a late equaliser with a superb header from a Youri Tielemans corner as the home side finally made the most of their 70 per cent possession [FotMob].
Watkins was on the scoresheet in the first half, proving Emery right, especially after Duran had little to no impact as a second-half substitute.
Unai Emery Jhon Duran decision vindicated for Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
The England international took his goal with aplomb, rounding Dean Henderson with ease before passing the ball into an empty net.
The 28-year-old ended a run of five club games without a goal despite scoring for the Three Lions against Greece during the international break.
This was a deserved strike after taking three shots on goal from 12 touches in the Palace area while registering 1.3 expected goals.
After a mainly positive performance, Emery didn’t take Watkins off as Duran was brought on with over 20 minutes to go, with the score at 2-1.
The Colombia international had very little impact as he registered just seven touches with only two coming in the opposition penalty area.
This wasn’t the desired effect that his manager may have expected as he only put up one shot with a zero per cent conversion rate while also being dispossessed once.
There was just nothing good to say about the 20-year-old who looked unhappy and lazy during his substitute appearance just days after being involved in controversy on international duty.
After weeks of fans demanding that Duran gets a start, Emery has proved to be right with his decision to trust Watkins instead.
In other Aston Villa news, Richard Keys has reacted to a “staggering” incident that happened against Crystal Palace.
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