Aston Villa: Watkins showcased in 34 minutes vs Lille why there’s still England hope yet
Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins looked much-improved as a substitute against Lille on Thursday.
The Villa Park faithful got their wish when Tammy Abraham was named in the starting XI for the second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie.
The winter signing didn’t receive much service and was eventually taken off with around an hour played on a frustrating night in B6.
That afforded his striker counterpart a chance off the bench, and he did his utmost to prove himself in claret and blue after his recent struggles.
Watkins played a role in Villa securing a 2-0 win against Lille and will now have one eye on the World Cup squad.
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Ollie Watkins showed quality in substitute cameo vs Lille
Villa fans certainly wanted Abraham to be given a chance in the starting XI after weeks of limited minutes from the bench.
He came in and struggled to really make anything stick before being taken off after 56 minutes of action against the French outfit.
| Stat vs Lille | Tammy Abraham | Ollie Watkins |
| Minutes played | 56 | 34 |
| Goal involvements | 0 | 1 |
| Chances created | 1 | 1 |
| Shots | 0 | 1 |
| Dribble success (%) | 0 | 100 |
| Duels won | 5 | 6 |
Watkins came on to replace him with 34 minutes to go, and it appears that his role as a substitute handed him plenty of motivation in B6.
The forward came on with a point to prove and grabbed an assist to cap off his performance, which has been outlined by Sofascore.
He came on and took one shot, completed 100 per cent of his attempted dribbles and won one foul to help the Villans to victory.
The forward also chipped in with one tackle and six duel victories as his defensive showing also showed his qualities in a must-win encounter.
Watkins has been poor for Villa recently and did look better on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to secure a spot in the England squad.
Watkins absent from England squad again
It doesn’t appear that the B6 striker has a fan in Thomas Tuchel, but he needs to leave him with no choice ahead of the World Cup.
The Three Lions named a 35-man squad for the March international break on Friday, with no place for Watkins in an extended selection.
Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will join the squad at St George’s Park, but the experience of the Villa man has been passed up.
That needs to act as motivation for the 30-year-old, who needs to add to his nine-goal tally between now and the end of the season.
If he can do exactly that and drag Unai Emery’s side to the Champions League, he could still seal himself a place in the England squad for the World Cup.
There have been plenty of false dawns for Watkins this season. This can’t be another one.
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