Aston Villa’s Director of Football Operations, Damian Vidagany, has praised the strength in depth in the current squad.
Villa secured a 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday afternoon, with all three goals coming from substitutes as Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn all found the back of the net.
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While we were in control for most of the encounter, frustration was starting to build as we struggled to find a breakthrough, but quality off the bench ultimately made the difference to help us to get over the line.
Having welcomed key individuals back from injury, coupled with our January signings which bolstered Unai Emery’s squad further, we’ve not only been able to rotate and keep everyone fresh, but we’re seeing important contributions from across the group.
That continued this weekend as we made it four consecutive league wins, and Vidagany was keen to credit the entire squad as everyone steps up and plays their part in hopefully making this a successful season for the club.
“Team comes first,” he noted on X. “In modern football to have players prepared and adding spirit and high quality to impact the match from the bench is crucial. Proud of the guys. We got a starting 22. UTV!!!”
Villa became the first team in Premier League history to have three substitutes score in one match, and while the players naturally deserve credit for the impact that they made, the timing of Emery’s decisions was also critical, and so all concerned deserve praise for playing their respective parts.
While our current form is encouraging and keeping us in the hunt for a top-five finish in the Premier League to secure Champions League football for next season, there are still a number of crunch encounters remaining.
It’s hoped that we’ll continue to see substitutes make the difference when needed, while we’re also hopefully peaking at the right time this year, as opposed to how we ultimately finished last season and stumbled across the line.
Vidagany’s post-game comments on social media have become somewhat of a highlight this season, and he’s once again shared positive thoughts and is spot on in his assessment.
