Premier League news: Ipswich draw sees Aston Villa fail to capitalise on rivals’ losses
With Chelsea and Newcastle falling to losses this weekend, Aston Villa had a great opportunity to climb the table, but Unai Emery’s side could only manage a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Ipswich Town.
The Villans now find themselves sitting in 9th position on the Premier League table, six points adrift of the Champions League places.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea are expected at Villa Park this week, so it does not get any easier for Emery and his men in the race for European football next season.
Sports News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce looks at what went wrong at Villa Park on Saturday.
Lack of cutting edge sees hosts settle for a point
Villa ultimately controlled the game against Ipswich, boasting a record of 75% possession, 25 shots, and 16 corners.
From a stats perspective, they should have seen the game to bed without breaking a sweat.
However, the hosts were not clinical enough in the final third and Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmar put in a fantastic display on his debut after signing from West Brom in the January transfer window.
Once Villa equalised in the second half, the forwards were relentless in trying to take the lead, but they just could not get the ball over the line a second time.
On any other day, one of the many chances would have gone in and Villa would have taken all three points.
With Ollie Watkins scoring his 70th Premier League goal, Marcus Rashford taking on defenders, and Marco Asensio showing experience in the second-striker role, Emery has plenty of attacking flair to choose from.
It all comes down to how quickly they can gel together while balancing the Champions League with their domestic ambitions.
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New signings settling in nicely
A lot of noise has surrounded Rashford since his high-profile arrival from Manchester United.
Even though he has yet to score in two appearances off the bench, his free kick was essentially the pre-assist for Watkins’ equaliser.
The left winger also created the most chances and completed the most dribbles of any player for the home side during his 45-minute spell in the second half.
That is undoubtedly a step in the right direction as his creative spark could result in positive returns in front of goal.
Andres Garcia has been another pleasant surprise.
Since joining from Spain’s second division, he has not put a foot wrong, making the jump to the Premier League look seamless.
The right-back's most notable contributions so far have been his inward crosses – which caused the Ipswich defenders no end of trouble on Saturday – and his curling shots from outside the box.
Indeed, he looks like another one of those hidden gems picked up for a cheap price in January, similar to the case of Morgan Rogers last year.
Elsewhere, Axel Disasi had a very influential debut in a claret and blue shirt.
He looked very composed on the ball, even playing one over the top to Watkins, who put it narrowly wide.
The French defender was moreover strong when he needed to be and put in a few decent tackles as well.
In hindsight, Disasi probably should have done better for Liam Delap’s goal, but overall it was a good show from a necessary addition to the team.
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Ipswich’s perfect game plan
In a match of fine margins, Ipswich executed the perfect game plan after going down to 10 men thanks to Axel Tuanzebe conceding two yellow cards.
Kieran McKenna’s side were happy to absorb the pressure and try to catch Villa on the break, like they ended up doing for the first goal.
Omari Hutchinson did a great job at facing up to Ian Maatsen and getting the ball into the box, where it only needed a slight touch by Delap to open the scoring.
It is the second game this season in which the Tractor Boys have caused Villa numerous problems.
On paper, one would expect the Midlands club to defeat a promoted side at home, but the fight and desire to stay in the Premier League from Ipswich is obvious to see.
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Looking ahead to tougher fixtures
Villa face tough opposition in their next two fixtures, with Liverpool visiting in midweek before Chelsea swing by on the weekend.
Those two games will be a real test for Emery's side in the battle for the top four and actually form part of a run of five games in only 14 days for Villa.
It is looking more and more like the Champions League has been a detriment to the club’s league form this season, much as it was for Newcastle last season.
As things stands, Villa are three points off of Newcastle in 7th place and six points off Manchester City in fourth.
Considering that a number of key players are set to return from injury in the coming weeks, Emery will be confident of a late push for the Champions League spots.
The dream, it seems, might just continue for Aston Villa after all.
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