Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expressed his admiration for striker Ollie Watkins following the team’s crucial victory against Everton at Goodison Park. Watkins scored the decisive goal early in the second half, ending his goal drought from open play since November. This victory marked a significant moment for the team as they aim to strengthen their league position.
Emery commended Watkins for his relentless effort and contribution to the team, highlighting the importance of the striker’s performance not only in terms of scoring but also in his overall work on the field.
Unai Emery said: “Ollie always responds on the field, sometimes not with goals but always with his work. Today he did it and he had a good chance in the first half but he kept going. He then scored a fantastic goal. The strikers have to score and they have to try to be offensively close to our attack to score goals or get assists. It is good because we won and it is good as well because he scored. It is good as well because after this clean sheet we have to analyse again how we can get stronger.”
The manager also emphasized the significance of the win for Aston Villa’s morale and their standing in the league. The victory helped the team break a challenging spell of away games, providing a much-needed boost as they strive for consistency throughout the season.
Emery continued: “It was very important today to win. We have broken our bad spell in the league away from home. We want to be more consistent in the table. We are trying to be all the season, more or less, to have the possibility to get the target for the league and this result was very important. We played the first half better than the second half. We created two very good chances we didn’t score.”
Aston Villa’s performance, particularly in the first half, demonstrated their potential to create scoring opportunities, although they were unable to capitalize on them fully. The win against Everton not only provided three valuable points but also reinforced the team’s ambition to climb higher in the league standings.
As Aston Villa looks ahead, Emery’s focus remains on maintaining and building upon this momentum to achieve their season objectives. The manager’s positive remarks about Watkins and the team’s overall performance reflect a commitment to continuous improvement and success.
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