Ollie Watkins has now offered his opinion on the decision to rule out Morgan Rogers stoppage-time winner against Juventus in the Champions League.
Aston Villa were held to a 0-0 draw by Juventus on Wednesday night after both sides produced a battling performance.
Unai Emery’s men served up a strong defensive display as they kept the visitors at bay, largely thanks to a world-class Emi Martinez save in the second half.
It was a game of few clear-cut chances for most of it but Morgan Rogers thought he’d won the game for Villa in the final minute of stoppage time.
Diego Carlos contested a high ball against goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. The Italian stopper spilt it underneath the challenge and Rogers pounced on the loose ball to slam home.
However, VAR adjudged Carlos to have fouled the keeper, leaving thousands of Villa fans angered at the decision to disallow the goal alongside striker Ollie Watkins.
- READ MORE: Unai Emery breaks silence after VAR controversially disallowed a late Aston Villa winner vs Juventus
Ollie Watkins verdict on Morgan Rogers disallowed goal vs Juventus
In the modern day, goalkeepers are heavily protected by the referee and any contact that causes them to go off balance and spill the ball is usually penalised.
That was the case in Villa’s clash against Juventus as the goalkeeper Di Gregorio was challenged physically by Carlos but not enough for the Brazilian to be punished.
Watkins, who was a star on the night for Emery, has now labelled the VAR decision ‘soft’ and explained that in the Champions League, keepers are treated differently.
Speaking to TNT Sport after the game, Watkins said: “I think it’s soft, maybe in the Premier League that’s a goal. But I feel like in European competition, the goalkeepers are protected a lot with the referees so it’s one of them.
“To be fair, I thought we’d scored but it had a 0-0 game written all over it so we would have been lucky if we took that there.”
Watkins understandably criticised the decision but was also humble enough to say there would have been an element of fortune in their winning goal.
Emi Martinez saved Aston Villa against Juventus
On a different occasion, perhaps Villa would have been celebrating all three points against another European heavyweight however, they also had Martinez to thank for the score still being at 0-0.
The ‘world-class’ Martinez didn’t have too many important saves to make, although the incredible reflexes he showed to get down low and deny Francisco Conceição’s header was out of this world.
He somehow managed to react so quickly and deny the winger scoring what looked like a certain goal.
| Emi Martinez stats vs Juventus |
| 35 touches |
| 25/27 (93%) accurate passes |
| 2 saves from inside box |
| 1 high claim |
| 1 accurate long ball |
Although Villa haven’t been performing to their usual high level of late, the Argentine has still produced his relentless consistency and prevented his side from being in a worse position.
Indeed, such performances – like the one tonight – only further highlight why Martinez is the world’s best goalkeeper.
