Amongst all the positives in our 4-2 win over Celtic, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will be delighted with what he saw from three key individuals.
Whether it was Jacob Ramsey providing the assist for Morgan Rogers to break the deadlock, Ollie Watkins going from provider for Rogers’ second to then scoring himself to put us back ahead from a Ramsey pass, to Watkins working tirelessly to put it on a plate for Rogers to bag his hat-trick and seal the win.
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There was a common theme in all of our goals, as they all involved the Villa trio, with all three producing a brilliantly decisive performance.
Emery has been robbed of the chance to field them together consistently, largely due to Ramsey’s injury woes, but with Rogers further along in his development now and with Watkins set to become the undisputed focal point of our attack again with Jhon Duran nearing an exit, this trident should now have an opportunity to shine.
Naturally, with Villa competing across multiple fronts, we need competition and depth, and that’s where the likes of Donyell Malen, Leon Bailey and others come in, while we’ll surely look to bring in further reinforcements ahead of the transfer deadline.
However, we’ve seen how effective and impactful Ramsey, Rogers and Watkins can be together, and it’s hoped that this is the start of a long stretch of form where this partnership flourishes.
All three complement each other brilliantly with Watkins able to link play together, hold up the ball to involve others, run the channels to stretch the pitch and create space in the middle. Rogers showed in midweek that he can not only drive forward from deep areas to torment opposition defences, but he also has the ability to get into good areas and his finishing is improving.
As for Ramsey, his positional awareness is exceptional as he often picks up pockets of space between the lines to add fluidity and cohesion to our play, and with his creativity and eye for goal, he adds a crucial dynamic to the side.
Coupled with the balance he brings and his work ethic out of possession, it worked a treat against Celtic, as we saw just how devastating this trio can be when they are all fully fit and looking sharp after Watkins provided the assist for Ramsey’s goal last weekend against West Ham too.
If we can add Bailey to the mix and get him back in form on the right flank, we’ll continue to score plenty of goals, while Emery must find a solution at the other end of the pitch to stop us from leaking too many.
He’ll be delighted with what he saw against Celtic though, and hopefully it’s just the start from these three to provide the firepower we need to achieve our objectives this season.
Loose marking in the back. Emery and his staff are weak on the defensive side of the game.