Lineker reacts as Watkins gutted at what Aston Villa teammate did v Southampton
Aston Villa secured a 3-0 victory away at Southampton, but it was not plain sailing for most of the game.
Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn struck in the second half against Southampton, who were already relegated from the top flight.
It was a tough game before Watkins broke the deadlock with an outstanding acrobatic finish off the bench, but it could have been easier as Marco Asensio missed two penalties.
Asensio saw both penalties saved by Aaron Ramsdale, and with the first miss coming at 0-0, it was a disaster from the Spaniard.
Watkins wanted to take second Aston Villa penalty
Watkins was the hero off the bench, as he both scored Villa’s first goal and won Villa’s first penalty, but he let Asensio step up to take it.
However, he has now admitted that he would have liked to take the second penalty, having seen Asensio miss his first attempt.
| Stat | Asensio |
| Appearances | 13 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 1 |
“As a striker, you always want to take them,” Watkins told BBC Match of the Day.
“When we won the second one I thought ‘Yeah I definitely wanted to take it.’
“I thought Marco was gonna score! But it’s the way it is with penalties – you score some, you miss some.”
Former England striker Gary Lineker then agreed with Watkins, highlighting the attacker’s desire to add to his goal tally.
“Indeed, you always want to take the penalties [as a striker],” Lineker said in response to Watkins’ comments.
Is Watkins becoming frustrated at Aston Villa?
Watkins has been a reliable performer for Villa over the years, and even this season he has been exceptional at scoring and creating.
Despite this, Watkins was dropped for January signing Marcus Rashford in the last two games, and he also saw fellow loanee Asensio miss twice from the spot.
The England striker was denied a move to Arsenal in January, and has fallen down the pecking order despite maintaining consistency in his performances.
It was Watkins, not Rashford or Asensio, who was the hero at Southampton, but he will now struggle to be the main man in the team with those two playing ahead of him and taking penalties instead of the striker.