Aston Villa picked up a much-needed three points at home to Wolves on Saturday evening, with Sky Sports pundits left blown away by one of Unai Emery’s stars.
After losing 4-0 at home to Spurs last time Aston Villa played in the Premier League at Villa Park, it was a far more enjoyable night for the home supporters against Wolves on Saturday.
Unai Emery watched on as his team beat their Midlands neighbours 2-0 in Birmingham, cementing their place in fourth after Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Luton earlier in the day.
It was a far from easy affair for the hosts to overcome however, Moussa Diaby’s outstanding strike in the 36th minute eased the pressure, coming against the run of play to Wolves’ despair.
With Diaby scoring the opener and then turning creator to set up Ezri Konsa’s first Premier League goal, it was a memorable night for the 24-year-old although, he wasn’t the only Villa forward to receive praise.
Ollie Watkins praised for what he did against Wolves
Despite only playing the first half against the Old Gold, it was a strong outing for Ollie Watkins, who showed the other strengths of his game aside from scoring.
The Englishman arguably should have scored one of his chances although it was his presence in the build-up that caught the attention of Sky Sports’ pundits.
During the fixture, Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe was impressed by Watkins’ movement in the final third for the hosts.
“It’s a great bit of play from Watkins, his link-up play and his movement was brilliant.”
The comments of Hinchcliffe were echoed at halftime by pundit Dion Dublin, who highlighted how strong the 28-year-old is when it comes to building positive sequences of play.
“We talk about his goals, but his hold-up play is good as well, he’s reliable.”
Ollie Watkins offers a lot more to Aston Villa than his goals
The main concern surrounding Watkins after the Wolves victory won’t be the fact he failed to score, but more importantly the reason for his withdrawal at halftime.
While the Englishman only recorded 12 touches on the ball during the match, his influence when involved was heavy, luring defenders out of the way to allow his teammates to thrive.
Numerous times in the first half, the striker played and received a pass with one of his teammates, making the most of the space he could create in an opening 45 minutes that proved to be tough for the hosts.
It’ll be hoped that the Englishman’s removal from play will be as a precaution or a tactical thought, with any injury worries regarding their talisman having the potential to be drastically detrimental to the Villans.
