Aston Villa halted a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. Ollie Watkins opened the scoring from the penalty spot and, in doing so, became the first Villa player in the Premier League era to score in five successive top-flight games.
Emi Buendia doubled Villa’s lead late on to secure the three points for Aston Villa.
So, what five things did we take away from the game?
RECORD BREAKING WATKINS ON POINT
When Ollie Watkins coolly dispatched the second half penalty at Goodison on Saturday he became the first Villa player to score in five consecutive Premier League outings, and the first since Paul Rideout in the mid-1980s in the old First Division. This writer has always fought Watkinsโ corner, even when this type of prolific scoring was a thing of dreams and often in stark contrast to many Villa fans who were eager to point fingers in his direction. When goals were harder to come by, Watkins remained essential to the teamโs aesthetic and progress under successive managers. Add to that a finishing confidence and clinical edge then we have some player on our hands. Itโs hard not to see a correlation between Danny Ingsโ departure and Ollieโs hot streak โ the confidence coursing through the striker is obvious and this must in part be linked to the knowledge that his value is recognised he is going to be starting every week. Next up Palace, and the opportunity to equal Andy Grayโs record as the last Villa player to score in 6 consecutive games. After some dissension, we can now be sure the whole of Villaโs fan base will be right behind him!
FULL BACK FLEXIBILITY
There was a temptation to believe Lucas Digneโs days at Villa were not long for this world โ starting with the signing of Alex Moreno, and then strengthened by underwhelming performances against Leicester and Manchester City. Moreno duly started the Arsenal game, but to some surprise Digne was back in the starting XI for Merseyside. As some commentators foretold it seems Unai Emery is content with a โhorses for coursesโ approach at least for the time being. Back on his old stomping ground Digneโs defensive work may have seemed valuable โ although going forward he looked better than in recent times, including one super ball for Watkins to force a wonder save from Jordan Pickford. Digne was steady, and yet Moreno offered a new impetus when he replaced him just after an hour. ย Whoever starts and finishes the flexibility that two different proponents of the same position offer will continue to see some chopping and changing, which can be no bad thing as Emery develops his knowledge of and trust in the squad. I also wouldnโt bet against Ashley Young still being in the conversation, on the other side, in certain games as the season waxes and wanes. It has been good to see Matty Cash emerge from his post World Cup โmomentโ to establish himself once more, but the different skill set, and nous of Young will continue to be valued by Emery and his team.
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CAPTAIN DEBATE VS LEADERSHIP GROUP
With the Six Nations in full flow, and a Rugby analogy already utilised in the full back analysis above, another one around โleadership groupsโ has some relevance to Villaโs performance against Everton. When our former manager unceremoniously stripped Tyrone Mings of the captaincy at the start of the season it set in motion a narrative of โleadersโ that has refused to go away. Mings said himself in an interview pre-Arsenal that he (of course) bore no ill will to his successor John McGinn and, indeed, the idea that not โbeing Captainโ might mean he wouldnโt try and lead those around him was preposterous. When McGinn was injured against Spurs in January, Emi Martinez assumed the role โ but again the nonsense narrative returned against Arsenal when the switch back to McGinn was used in some quarters as a sign that Emi had fallen out with his manager. Ridiculousness aside, for this Villa side to be a success all three of the players mentioned here โ plus Ashley Young and, I would argue, Douglas Luiz โ all need to take a leadership role in the side and guide those around them, responding to things on the pitch and embodying Emeryโs message on it. On Saturday Martinez, Mings, Luiz and McGinn all made telling contributions to an important Villa win. The wearing of a captainโs armband is symbolic and, I am sure, an honour but leadership of successful teams does bit start or end with that piece of elasticated cloth.
RELENTLESS EMERY FOCUSED ON PALACE
When journalist Ashley Preece asked the Villa manager if he could relax and celebrate the victory at Goodison, the Spaniard was quick to make it clear that celebration was for others and his focus was already turning to Crystal Palace at Villa Park next Saturday. The continued failure to replicate the controlled (albeit imperfect) away performances in B6 is an obvious bug bear for Emery and fans alike. The wildness of the Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal defeats at home seem a world away from the collective effort and pragmatism away at Spurs, Southampton, Brighton and now Everton. Away from home Villa have tended to start slower (at least in terms of score line) and build โ and once they have the lead donโt relinquish it. At home the faster start (again in terms of score line) has been quickly relinquished and the control has been lacking, exacerbated by glaring individual mistakes. Solving this riddle is clearly at the forefront of Emeryโs mind as Palace come to town and Villa Park will be willing a more positive outcome than the 4-2 defeats against Leicester and Arsenal. Of course, Palace have yet to win a game in the calendar year of 2023 and we all know how these things work out when Villa are involved, so best not get too carried away just yet.
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HIT THE IMAGE – to be diverted.
KEEPING DURAN’S POWDER DRY
Something more โconfirmedโ than โlearnedโ is that Unai Emery is in no rush to throw Jhon Duran into the cut and thrust of Premier League life. Many Villa fans were calling for a start against Arsenal, calls Emery resisted and the Colombian didnโt even get off the bench at Goodison. The rawness is exciting but for Emery the priority (rightly) is setting up correctly and then closing games down and there must be some doubt over Duranโs readiness for that. The signing should always have been seen as long-term investment rather than short term impact and it will be fascinating to watch the young manโs involvement (limited or not) over the remaining weeks of the season. As a regular watcher of the U21 side, who lest we forget started without an out and out striker on Friday evening, I would love to see Duran have a run out over 90 minutes. I assume that relies on scheduling as, clearly, Villa need him on the bench and the youngsters generally play less than 24 hours before their senior counterparts.
A footnoteโฆ
Talking of the U21 side can anyone explain the two goalkeepers on the bench notion? Oliwer Zych hardly covered himself in glory when conceding 4 against Sunderland U21 but was whisked to Merseyside to take his place amongst the substitutes. Is this just a case of making up the numbers? Would another of the U21 side benefit from being part of that squad? Mind you, Zychโs kicking at Bodymoor was reminiscent of Emiโs against Arsenal so maybe there is a plan after all.
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AUTHOR | IVAN MCDOUALL
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