Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring the winner for Aston Villa.placeholder image
Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring the winner for Aston Villa. | Getty Images
Aston Villa talisman Ollie Watkins commented on the Chelsea defending following his side's victory over the London outfit.
Chelsea saw a 10 point gap open up between themselves in fifth and Aston Villa in third after Unai Emery’s side came back from 1-0 down to steal all three points at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
The Blues took the lead in the first half through Joao Pedro but an in-form Aston Villa side were determined after the break with substitute Ollie Watkins bagging a brace. The first goal saw the striker have to bustle his way through the Chelsea defence but, for the second, Watkins made the most of a free header.
The England international spoke to Sky Sports after the match with former Tottenham Hotspur man Jamie Redknapp asking if he could ‘believe his luck’ that it was the smaller Malo Gusto closest to putting in a challenge for that 84th minute goal.
Ollie Watkins labels second goal ‘free header’ as Chelsea defending criticised
Watkins replied: “I felt like they were stood off us. They had a lot of chances from our own corners when they were countering. I’ve gave him [Gusto] a little shove and he wasn’t marking me too tightly. It’s basically a free header. It’s nice to see that float into the corner. It’s a nice moment for me.”
Redknapp then went on to analyse the goal and added his criticism to Gusto’s defending. The 22-year-old initially appeared to be occupied by stopping the ball being passed to the edge of the box from the corner, but ended up moving back into the melee.
Redknapp said: “Once he gets back in, I don’t think he shows any appetite to head it. I think he ducks down because he’s worried what’s behind him. It’s too easy, he gets pushed out the way and doesn’t do enough. You talk about blockers and markers, he’s doing neither. Is that a man who is trying to attack the ball? Not really.”
Aston Villa challenging Arsenal and Man City in title race
Aston Villa are just three points off league leaders Arsenal and that 10 point gap above Chelsea all but confirms that the Blues won’t be in the title race this term. The Villains, however, remain outside contenders to challenge the Gunners and Manchester City.
Watkins said: “I feel like teams are worried about us, thinking ‘ah, we’ve got Villa next’. Even if we may not play the prettiest football at times because we are sat behind the ball and just defending but they know we are going to eventually cause them problems when we do string a few passes together and grow into the game.
“We’re taking each game as it comes and just focusing on ourselves. There’s a lot of talk about us and people asking the question about winning the title but that’s a long way away and we are focusing on the next game.”
In other news, West Ham must make Chelsea 'audacious' goalkeeper swap deal - opinion.
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