Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is facing intense scrutiny after extending his goal drought to 10 games (nine for the club) following a weak penalty miss in Villa’s Europa League win over Bologna.
The 29-year-old’s spot-kick was saved, marking his third miss in his last five penalties.
The nine-game league drought equals the longest of his Villa career. Watkins has underperformed his expected goals (\text{xG}) of 2.2 this season and has missed all five of his ‘big chances.’
Despite the setback, Villa secured a 1-0 win, and both manager Unai Emery and captain John McGinn offered staunch public support.
Emery insisted, “The goal is coming through the work he did today.” He praised Watkins’ effort and contribution outside of scoring, calling his work fantastic. McGinn echoed this, stating, “He’s a top-class striker… We don’t need to put any pressure on him.”
As Villa’s record Premier League scorer, who has never dropped below double figures in a Premier League season, the team remains confident that their star forward will soon rediscover the form that led to 19 goals last season.
