Aston Villa secured a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in dramatic fashion on Saturday, with three late goals turning the game on its head.
Despite dominating the first half, Odsonne Edouard gave the visitors the lead shortly after the break, and that was a crucial moment as it appeared to knock us out of our rhythm for a long period in the second half.
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Fortunately, as we continued to push for a way back into the encounter, Jhon Duran produced a sensational finish in the 87th minute to drag us level, before goals in added time from Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey turned it around.
After the defeat to Liverpool prior to the international break, it was vital that we got back to winning ways this weekend to spark some good form for our upcoming run of fixtures. In turn, it’s a big win, with Unai Emery and the players having plenty to analyse and improve upon too.
Villa come through important test
It was a fascinating test this weekend, as initially Villa were forced to show a different side to our game with Palace refusing to press and fall into our traps.
That in turn made us adopt an even more patient and measured approach as we dominated possession and continued to probe for a breakthrough, and but-for some poor finishing, we should have been in a commanding position by half-time.
Ultimately that wasn’t the case, and Villa were then forced to come from behind to win it. The character and mentality shown by the players in those last 15 minutes or so was pivotal, as we not only continued to push, but had the quality to make the difference in a pressure situation where in the past we’d perhaps be left frustrated.
Zaniolo shows positive signs on full debut
There was real excitement prior to kick-off, with Nicolo Zaniolo named in the starting line-up for his full Villa debut.
The 24-year-old had impressed off the bench previously, and he showed good signs in this outing too as he was positive, direct and always willing to get on the ball to try and make something happen.
His decision-making in threatening areas will need to improve as he squandered a couple of promising situations, but he showed enough to suggest that he can be a key figure in the squad this season to help us compete on multiple fronts as he offers something different and exciting to others in the group.
Torres question mark
It was a good performance overall from Pau Torres, as he defended relatively well for the most part and was classy as usual in possession. He even had a superb assist chalked off for Moussa Diaby’s goal that was judged to be offside.
Nevertheless, there was another key moment in the game where question marks might perhaps be raised over him, and it comes back to the physical nature of the battles he’ll face in a Villa shirt.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was able to spin away from him, hold him off and play a killer pass into acres of space in the middle of our backline for Palace’s goal, and following similar concerns in previous games against Burnley and Liverpool, it’s a side of the Spaniard’s game that has to improve.
Watkins needs a goal
It’s important to highlight that it was Ollie Watkins who won the decisive penalty that helped turn the game around in our favour late on, as it was another excellent bit of movement from the Villa forward which we saw all afternoon.
However, it’s clear he could do with a goal to boost his confidence. Although he bagged three goals in two Europa Conference League qualifiers, he’s yet to get off the mark in the Premier League after five appearances, albeit he has contributed two assists.
From the missed opportunity in the first-half as he pounced on a mistake but couldn’t find the finish, to not being in better positions in the box as we fired dangerous crosses right across the face of the goal on several occasions but with no one to apply the finish, it’s hoped he gets his first league goal soon as it’ll likely spark an important run of goalscoring form.
Duran continues to make positive impact
Aside from the quality of the strike that brought us back into the game, that’s now three goals in six games for the Colombian international as he continues to make a pivotal impact.
The youngster looked like a raw talent last season and with injury preventing him from taking part in a full pre-season schedule, it was feared that he might need a lot more time to make the impact needed from him as chief support to Watkins.
However, he’s playing his role perfectly at the minute with goals off the bench or in starts when Emery rotates, and it’s hoped that he continues to take important strides forward in his adaptation and integration in the side in the coming weeks.