Lineker shocked by ‘horrible’ Aston Villa scenes v Southampton, Shearer reacts
Aston Villa maintained their Champions League qualification hopes with a 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday.
Five teams are set to qualify for Europe’s premier competition at the end of the season and the Villans currently occupy the last spot.
Unai Emery‘s side have won four of their last five league matches to give themselves a real shot of a second successive season amongst the elite.
Marco Asensio has nightmare afternoon v Southampton
Asensio has been brilliant for Aston Villa since signing on loan in the winter transfer window but he missed two penalties in the victory.
Gary Lineker shared his sympathy for the Spaniard after the contest and Alan Shearer has reacted.
Speaking on Match of the Day (12 April, 23:02 pm), Lineker said: “It is horrible though isn’t it, when you have missed one and then you get another one.”
Shearer responded, saying: “I missed one in a game and had another one and been fortunate enough to score the next one but I don’t suspect he will be on the next one.”
Villa must put Asensio shocker behind them
Emery’s side and particularly Asensio, must put the incidents behind them as they look to overturn a 3-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The PSG loanee has been one of Villa’s best players since making the move and he has to bounce back and put in a big display against his parent club if the Villans are to progress, which seems unlikely given the first-leg scoreline.
| Stats (All competitions) | Asensio |
| Matches | 13 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Minutes played | 675 |
More importantly, the Spaniard must not let it affect his form long-term as it will be vital if the B6 outfit are going to qualify for the competition again.
The idea of turning his loan move into a permanent one seems like an obvious choice for Emery right now, given the fact that he has notched six goals and one assist in 10 matches so far.
The West Midlands club reportedly have an option to purchase the former Real Madrid star for a fee of just £12.5million in the summer but they may need to act quickly to secure a deal, as his stock is on the rise.
The risk involved in that deal is minimal and the potential upside is very high given what Asensio has already shown that he is capable of, the only issue may be that other clubs may fancy taking a punt on the Villa loanee.