Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard insists Jamaica international Leon Bailey merited a start against Leicester on Saturday, after a week of solid training.
Bailey’s addition to the starting line-up was a bit of a surprise, given the fact that it was just his second time in a starting line-up in 2022.
Bailey previously played the full 90 minutes against Wolves at the start of the month, but aside from that has been restricted to coming off the bench on six occasions since returning from injury.
"I thought it was a performance in the right direction for Leon. He's trained ever so well in the last week, 10 days. I think he's had a frustrating time. We spoke about that in the week, the likes of Bertrand Traore and Leon Bailey, ball carriers for us, people who can make the difference and help get the team up the pitch, especially when you're away from home against a Brendan Rodgers team,” Gerrard explained, following the match.
"At times, you're going to need people who can get you from one end of the pitch to another. That was the thinking behind his selection but, also, he's arguably been our best trainer and I want to reward people like that. He's doing it on a daily basis and I can't ignore people who are showing me that they deserve game time. So, all in all, I'm happy with his performance,” he added.
Despite missing a golden opportunity to put the team ahead, however, Gerrard is confident the player can contribute meaningfully before the end of the season.
"I thought he should have put us one up early on but, listen, I'll forgive him for that because he's in the right place. I'm sure with more game time, more sharpness and, if more opportunities fall for him again, I'm sure he can help us move forward."
Villa 'deserved more' from draw with Palace, says Emery
Unai Emery suggested Aston Villa "deserved more" than a point after coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace at Villa Park.
The result sees Villa's winless streak extend to six matches across all competitions (D2 L4), equalling their longest run without a victory under Emery (also six in April-May 2024).
After Ismaila Sarr's early opener, the hosts needed Ollie Watkins to pull them level before Ross Barkley cancelled out Justin Devenny's strike with 13 minutes to go.
Yet having seen a penalty saved and hitting the woodwork, Emery felt his team should have got more from the match.
"We deserved more, but we made some mistakes that we need to correct. We had chances to score, we came back. The penalty was a key moment," he told Sky Sports.
"In the second half, we pushed and felt close to scoring, but we have to accept one point."
Youri Tielemans had the opportunity to put Villa ahead on the stroke of half-time from the spot but placed his shot at a saveable height for Dean Henderson, who guessed the right way.
It allowed Palace to break down the other end through Sarr, who squared to Devenny to send the visitors into the lead just before the break.
Emery admitted his players are "concerned" about their vulnerability in transitions and rued the mistakes being made.
"Here at home, we were thinking how strong we were, winning 15 games in a row and how we can recover confidence, impose our gameplan. We are losing some opportunities. We are conceding a few chances for the opponent and making some mistakes," he told reporters.
"We are not getting three points but deserving here at home to win. We played well against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Man United and here. But we are making mistakes and they are punishing us.
"Overall we had more chances, we dominated the match. We have to correct matches where we play like we did today and get more points."
Villa led their opponents comfortably on expected goals (xG), accruing a total of 3.18 compared to Palace's 1.27.
The visitors also had key players Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton out, leading Oliver Glasner to be pleased with his side's fighting display.
"I'm very proud of the team's performance. We’re missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals," he said.
"I'm very proud how they played together, worked together, fight together and believed in getting a point here.
"Overall, it was a good performance for us, and we go home very pleased with the point."
Aston Villa 2-2 Crystal Palace: Sarr's first league goal for Eagles helps extend hosts' winless run
Ross Barkley’s late headed equaliser helped Aston Villa earn a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Villa Park, although their winless run now stands at four matches in the league.
Unai Emery’s side could not shake their poor form as they were forced to come from behind twice at home to an injury-hit Palace team.
Ismaila Sarr got the visitors off to a flying start with his first-ever league goal for the club on four minutes as he slotted home on the break, though Ollie Watkins brought the hosts level in the 36th minute.
Villa could have gone ahead as Youri Tielemans saw a penalty saved just before half-time, but it was Palace who took advantage through Justin Devenny. The 21-year-old put visitors back in front in first-half stoppage time.
The hosts left it late to snatch an equaliser as Barkley headed home from Tieleman's corner off the left with 13 minutes to go.
Aston Villa go seventh in the table, while Crystal Palace drop below Wolves and into the relegation zone in 18th.
Data Debrief: Sarr and Watkins lead from the front
Watkins has been directly involved in 50 goals in 80 Premier League appearances at Villa Park (35 goals, 15 assists), now the outright most of any Villa player in the competition (Gabriel Agbonlahor, 49).
At the other end, Sarr scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the second time in his career, previously doing so versus Liverpool in February 2020.
Both players led their respective sides for expected goals (xG), with Sarr accruing a total of 0.69 from the right wing, while Watkins totalled more than penalty-taker Tielemans with 1.29 xG.
Host T&T, Jamaica register double wins on Rugby Americas North opening day
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were the only double winners on day one of the 2024 Rugby Americas North (RAN) tournament as their men and women teams registered contrasting victories at the Larry Gomes Stadium on Friday.
Trinidad and Tobago’s men came from behind to secure an unlikely and dramatic 12-5 victory over Mexico, while the Twin Island Republic’s women thrashed Barbados 37-0, as both teams put themselves on course for top spots in their respective round-robin groups.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men edged Cayman Islands 22-21, while the women were 40-12 winners over the Dominican Republic.
Canada and Barbados were also victorious in men’s Tier One action, bettering Guyana 29-0 and Bermuda 19-7, respectively.
In the men’s Tier Two division, Curacao topped Turks and Caicos 31-5, and the Dominican Republic secured a 46-0 win over St Vincent & the Grenadines.
The other women’s encounter saw Mexico register a comfortable 39-0 over Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘B’ team.
Action continues on Saturday with Trinidad and Tobago's women and their Jamaican counterparts doing battle, while the hosts’ B team will cross swords with the Dominican Republic to get the day going.
Day Two Fixtures
Women
Trinidad and Tobago ‘B’ vs Dominican Republic
Trinidad and Tobago vs Jamaica
Trinidad and Tobago vs Dominican Republic
Trinidad and Tobago ‘B’ vs Barbados
Trinidad and Tobago vs Mexico
Trinidad and Tobago ‘B’ vs Jamaica
Men’s tier one
Trinidad and Tobago vs Jamaica
Trinidad and Tobago vs Cayman Islands
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
