Aston Villa v Everton is the focus of our latest Scout Notes article.
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WATKINS “NOT AT 100%”
Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) opened his account for the season on Saturday with goals either side of half-time.
The first, a close-range header, was followed by an opportunistic strike just before the hour mark.
There were further chances, too, with a header cleared off the line and a first-time shot dragged wide of the post. Overall, Watkins was presented with four Opta-defined ‘big chances’.
He’s still not 100%, however:
“There’s such a quick turnaround from the Euros. A lot of the boys are getting back up to fitness. I still don’t feel 100%. I’m disappointed I didn’t get the hat-trick – I should be coming off with the match ball – but I’ll settle for the two.
“I’m not at 100%. I took some time off during the international break. I don’t want to miss too many matches, though. We were obviously unlucky against Arsenal. We’re delighted we got [the win] today. Now we focus on the Champions League, which everyone is looking forward to.” – Ollie Watkins
Lucas Digne (£4.6m) supplied the cross for Watkins’ first goal to grab an assist for the second game running.
Positioned high up the pitch, the Frenchman ranked first or joint-first for final-third touches (45), passes received in the final-third (33) and crosses (eight).
Above: Aston Villa’s passing network v Everton, via StatsBomb
“Lucas Digne is playing in our structure, adding one side one full-back more [forward] because Pau Torres can build up and get a bit higher on the left side. He’s a very good player, trying to connect with our midfielders, wingers and strikers from there. With Lucas, we can exploit his capacity to cross. He’s clinical with his crosses.” – Unai Emery on Lucas Digne
Elsewhere, Lamare Bogarde (£4.0m) started over Kosta Nedeljkovic (£4.0m) at right-back again, while Amadou Onana’s (£5.1m) half-time withdrawal was tactical, with Ross Barkley (£5.3m) brought on because Unai Emery wanted more control.
As for Morgan Rogers (£5.1m), he had a few shots at goal but didn’t really test Jordan Pickford (£4.9m).
EMERY: “WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN PLAY WITH TWO STRIKERS”
Jhon Duran (£6.0m) had only been on the pitch for seven minutes when he received the ball 30 yards out, took a touch and unleashed a fabulous drive into the top corner.
The Colombian has now scored three goals this season, all as a substitute.
In Gameweeks 1-3, Duran replaced Watkins from the bench, but here, he played alongside him. It’s something we could potentially see more of in the future, but only if Emery can make it work tactically.
“He has made a good impact in the last three games, scoring goals and helping the team. For this reason, he played in the starting XI for Colombia. His potential is huge and I want to support him, help him and be demanding with him. Then he can possibly get better, building confidence. Today, Watkins scored two goals – you have to feel comfortable with those strikers! We have to think about how we can play with two strikers – this is the challenge I have.” – Unai Emery
“We will need time because it’s a good possibility. Last year we did it sometimes but not really being positive. Why? Because they need to connect better, they need to be in our structure feeling comfortable with another player. This is a process I have in my mind to do, but of course, in the beginning we are happy with one striker and then adding other players scoring goals. Those two strikers when they are playing together, they are starting to feel better. I think it’s positive and still keeping good performances from Jhon Duran. For me, it’s not a problem. It’s a really good solution.” – Unai Emery
EVERTON’S POOR START
Everton fell apart from 2-0 up for the second consecutive game on Saturday.
As a result, they remain pointless this season, with four games played and four defeats.
Sean Dyche teams tend to be solid defensively and difficult to beat, but worryingly, they have conceded 13 goals this season, more than any other side. They are also bottom for big chances conceded, with 18.
Dyche, already without Seamus Coleman (£4.4m), Nathan Patterson (£4.4m) and Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.9m), was dealt a further blow when Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.4m) was forced off through illness at Villa Park.
It saw James Garner (£5.0m) come on at right-back, with Ashley Young (£4.5m) moving over to the left, where he admittedly fared better.
“Look, the full-back situation has been tough, getting the team out there and picking them up from what happened last time but I thought the reaction was good. The tactical reaction was good in the first half: absorbing pressure, slowing them down and then breaking when we could. We did that really well.
“Unfortunately, at the minute the fine margins are really hurting us, because you can see it at the moment, every mistake is getting punished and every time we have a chance to punish someone else, we haven’t done it. That’s my responsibility as manager and the players’ responsibility as a collective, so the work continues.
“I have spoken endlessly about both boxes, the killer instinct. There are very small margins and we cannot get on the right side of them at the moment.” – Sean Dyche
Operating in a more central role again, Dwight McNeil (£5.4m) did at least impress further forward. He opened the scoring with a drilled low finish, before supplying the assist for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s (£5.9m) header.
He’s now created 17 chances this season, more than any other player:
As for Calvert-Lewin, though he scored, he missed a couple of great chances, crashing one of his efforts against the bar when 3-2 down.
