After the draw against Bournemouth, Aston Villa midfielder Ross Barkley admitted his overriding feeling was one of disappointment despite having scored his first goal of the season. Barkley was brought on at the start of the second half, replacing Amadou Onana, who had been booked in the first half. Barkley managed to break the deadlock in the 76th minute by scoring after Leon Bailey’s header from Ian Maatsen’s cross. However, Aston Villa failed to maintain their lead when Bournemouth’s summer signing Evanilson equalized in the 96th minute.
Ross Barkley said, “Disappointing really. After we got the goal I think we could have played out better and we went long a lot. The late goal, we work on our defensive side and it is really disappointing to concede that. Last time I was here, it was the second lockdown so there weren’t any fans here. It was nice for me to finally get that in front of the fans but overall it is disappointing really. Working with [Unai Emery] every day since I have been here, I can see the growth of the club. We are fighting to remain in the Champions League. We are growing and learning every day and the manager is pushing us as far as he can. Today we can hopefully take lessons from because we have to fight until the end. It’s like two points lost, really.”
