‘Watkins furious with Marcus Rashford’ after what happened in Aston Villa v PSG
Aston Villa crashed out of the Champions League against PSG, and Ollie Watkins will have been less than impressed by teammate Marcus Rashford for his involvement.
Despite a remarkable attempt at a second-half comeback, Aston Villa fell out of the Champions League after a 5-4 aggregate defeat against PSG, despite winning 3-2 on the night.
Unai Emery’s side had many chances to win the tie, but a lack of composure in the final third proved costly, as did several errors in the early stages of the game.
Rashford was one of those partly at fault for the opening goal, and Watkins will be furious with him.
Rashford has replaced Watkins at Aston Villa
Throughout his time at the club, Watkins has been as reliable as anyone for Aston Villa, but his place in the starting 11 has come under threat since the arrival of Rashford on loan from Manchester United.
Had it not been for Watkins’ goals and just general contribution last season, Villa would not even be in the Champions League, and for Rashford to have taken his place in such huge games, he will be fuming that he has lost out on the chance to have any telling impact in their European campaign.
| Aston Villa | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Watkins | 46 | 15 | 12 |
Rashford did register an assist for Ezri Konsa’s goal, but outside of that, he offered very little in an attacking sense, and yet Watkins was forced to wait until the 76th minute to have his say in the game.
In all likelihood, Rashford will not be here next season, and it will leave Watkins wondering where his importance lies in the eyes of Emery.
Emery has new conundrum at Aston Villa
With Champions League success now off the cards, focus will turn to the final six games of the Premier League season, where they will be looking to secure qualification for the new campaign.
Villa sit just one point outside of the top five, which, of course, will be enough to secure Champions League football after the coefficient change.
For Emery, he must now decide whether he persists with a player who may not be here next season, or goes back to the reliable option of Watkins, who has delivered a remarkable 27 G/A this season across all competitions.