Aston Villa scored late to secure a 2-2 draw with West Brom on Sunday as Keinan Davis bagged his first Premier League goal to earn a share of the spoils.
Villa took an early lead through Anwar El Ghazi’s penalty, but Matheus Pereira converted from the spot too as the two sides went into the half-time break level.
READ MORE: Aston Villa player ratings vs West Brom: Davis rescues point, sloppy from Konsa
The visitors made a fast start after the interval and pounced on sloppy play from us to take the lead, and it wasn’t until the 92nd minute that Villa were back on levels terms with Davis pouncing to grab a dramatic late equaliser.
While we struggled at times and the Baggies had chances of their own, Villa will be frustrated that the clash ended in a draw, as although this was a deserved point, it was also two thrown away in a game that we should have won.
Wasteful Villa miss out on win there for taking
As noted above, Villa dominated with 24 attempts at goal and 70 percent of possession, but ultimately we weren’t able to translate that into goals and come away with three points.
There’s no doubt that we’re still not at our best and at the levels that we displayed in the first half of the season, but we had enough opportunities on Sunday to put away a West Brom side battling for survival.
By being wasteful in front of goal we made life difficult for ourselves, and so it’s a setback in terms of our push to finish in the top half of the table.
Not enough quality in attack
While we were better this weekend compared to the performances in recent months, it still isn’t enough as we have to be clinical at this level.
El Ghazi, Ross Barkley and Bertrand Traore had their moments where they flashed some quality, while there was an improvement in our build-up play in terms of the tempo and crispness of some our passing, with the lead up to our penalty being a perfect example of that.
However, from sloppy passing in midfield into attack as well as a lack of confidence, cutting edge and class with the final ball and our finishing, we will rue what was a missed opportunity of a win.
Konsa’s off night
Ezri Konsa has established himself as a pillar of our defence this season, showing great ability and consistency to emerge as one of the more reliable figures in the side.
Unfortunately for him, he had a bad night at the office on Sunday as he gave away the penalty, albeit a soft one, and crucially slipped to let in West Brom for their second goal.
It will be a test of his character and personality now to show that he can bounce back and react to adversity positively, but he’ll be disappointed with how his night played out.
Davis off the mark
Having made countless positive impacts off the bench, the goal has been missing for the 23-year-old as has been unfortunate at times but also wasteful.
To his credit, he has kept plugging away when involved and while he should have perhaps got on the scoresheet sooner after being introduced after having a couple of decent chances, he finally got his first Premier League goal that he’s been craving.
Davis did well to pounce and not give up on the play as Ollie Watkins headed the ball back across goal, and it turned out to be a decisive impact as we snatched a late draw.
Wesley returns
480 days had passed since his devastating injury at Burnley, but the agonising road to recovery finally came to a head for Wesley on Sunday as he made his comeback for the senior side.
It almost got lost in the late drama with Davis grabbing a late equaliser, but it was a great moment to see the Brazilian ace return and make an appearance.
Given his characteristics and what he can offer up front with his physicality and aerial threat, which could either complement Watkins in a two-man attack or perhaps allow the England international to play out wide for a time if needed to give us a different look, it could become crucial to have a fully fit Wesley back in the mix moving forward.
