Lee Hendrie reacts to big Aston Villa v Liverpool controversy – ‘I’d be Mortified’
Aston Villa gave as good as they got against Liverpool at Villa Park in a lively midweek encounter which ended 2-2.
The Villans went behind and later led over the course of an enthralling first half, Mo Salah taking advantage of Andres Garcia’s error before Youri Tielemans equalised.
Ollie Watkins put Villa crucially in front on the cusp of half-time, but Unai Emery has to settle for a point after Trent Alexander-Arnold levelled in the second half.
McGinn moment worries Hendrie
Aston Villa were bold from the moment Emery named his line-up to take on Liverpool, and went toe-to-toe with the league leaders to potentially nick all three points near the end.
Watkins added another goal to his tally in a run of form which has now seen him fire three in his last four, and four in eight played since mid-January.
Former Villa ace Lee Hendrie, covering the contest live in the Sky Sports studio (19 February), talked viewers through the striker’s goal, which Liverpool had appealed due to an alleged handball offence from John McGinn.
Hendrie admitted he would have been “mortified” had the goal somehow been disallowed, with the incident taking place a long while before Lucas Digne found Watkins to score.
“There’s a shout of handball from John McGinn but it’s quite far back,” Hendrie recounted.
There’s Jota… if this was disallowed, I’d be mortified.”
Aston Villa still in wide-open Champions League hunt
Aston Villa still have a lot to fight for, and Emery needs squad depth for the entire remainder of the campaign with the Champions League and FA Cup still left to work towards.
Add onto that the fact that while the Villans may still sit ninth in the Premier League table following the draw, they are still among the chasing pack breathing down the necks of the top five.
It is widely anticipated that five clubs will qualify for the Champions League from the Premier League this season, with England’s UEFA coefficient looking very promising.
The draw at Villa Park was a far cry from the meek defeat at Anfield back in November which shows progress as well as a knowledge that the home crowd can be a massive influence behind Emery’s men.