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BRIGHTON COLLAPSE: ASTON VILLA EXPLOIT ERRORS FOR THRILLING 4-3 ROAD WIN
Unai Emery's tactical changes led Aston Villa to a dramatic 4-3 win over Brighton. Emery praises Watkins' confidence and Bizot's late heroics.
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Aston Villa's coach, Unai Emery, is hoping that Ollie Watkins' two goals in the first half of their exciting 4-3 comeback win against Brighton will help him get back to his best scoring form.
Villa is now third in the Premier League after coming back from being two goals down at Brighton's stadium. This win marks their eighth in the last nine league matches.
Watkins hadn't scored in 11 games before this match, but he managed to score twice, cancelling out goals from Jan Paul van Hecke and an own goal by Pau Torres. This brought his season total to three goals.
Amadou Onana and Donyell Malen, who came in as substitutes, also scored for Villa, completing the comeback. Although Van Hecke scored again for Brighton, it wasn't enough to stop Villa from winning.
Watkins, who plays for England, was brought back into the team as one of five changes from their 1-0 win over Wolves. He has now scored nine goals in 10 games against Brighton.
Emery said that Watkins always gives him confidence because of his hard work and focus during matches. He added that even when Watkins isn't scoring, he stays confident, and the goals will eventually come. Emery hopes Watkins can continue to balance his hard work with scoring goals.
Before the game, Villa had to make a late change when goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got injured during the warm-up.
Marco Bizot, the backup goalkeeper, was at fault for Brighton's first goal but made up for it with a crucial save in added time, stopping a header from Danny Welbeck.
Emery explained that Martinez felt a block in his back and couldn't warm up properly. He praised Bizot, calling him a fantastic professional who knew his role and was ready to play when needed. Emery acknowledged Bizot's mistake on the first goal but pointed out that it's hard for goalkeepers to defend corners. He also highlighted Bizot's fantastic save at the end of the game and said that he always works hard and is responsible.
Brighton has dropped to seventh place after their 10-game unbeaten run at home, which dated back to a 3-0 loss to Villa in early April, came to an end.
Brighton's coach, Fabian Hurzeler, admitted his disappointment at losing a 2-0 lead, saying that these things can happen, especially in the Premier League against good teams.
He said that it shouldn't have happened and that they would analyse the game to try and improve next time. Hurzeler felt that his team defended quite well in the first half but that the goals they conceded seemed to come out of nowhere and were more about individual errors.
He also pointed out that they conceded two goals from set pieces, which made the difference in the end. Hurzeler acknowledged the importance of set pieces and said that they would analyse their defence and keep working on it.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.
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