Although rules are rules, sometimes the officials need to read the room and this was just one of many Brookes got badly wrong on the day.<\/p>\n
Barring a Yves Bissouma effort that smashed off the crossbar, Villa looked comfortable and in control.<\/p>\n
Gerrards men grew in confidence and always looked the most likely to score next, and it soon arrived. Tyrone Mings fired a long ball forward and Watkins beat Veltman for pace, taking one touch onto his right before cooly slotting a left-footed finish into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n
Villa move to 30 points in the table and more importantly increase the gap to 9 points between them and the bottom three.<\/p>\n
![\"Ollie](\"https:\/\/www.avillafan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Watkings-1024x684.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Bad<\/h2>\n\n- I feel a little harsh saying this but we still don\u2019t control games. After the opening 15-20 minutes, we never looked in trouble against Brighton but didn\u2019t control the game. Given recent performances, maybe the win is more important but if we are to push on to the next level, controlling games is something we need to learn to do.<\/li>\n
- Douglas Luiz struggled at times on Saturday with a few passes that could have proved costly. The Brazillian is playing out of position and is helping Villa out due to the absence of Marvelous Nakamba. I am a fan but I feel even he will look back and know he could have performed better in parts here.<\/li>\n
- Once again we find ourselves talking about the poor officiating in the game. Brookes really struggled to deal with the game handing out yellow cards for fun and then missing actual fouls. There were a total of 9 yellow cards handing out in this game and it was far from a dirty game.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Good.<\/h2>\n\n- Gerrard made Villa more narrow defensively and we looked much better for it. Yes, we were exploited out wide at times but we were able to deal with everything that was thrown at us. I have questioned Gerrard at times lately but credit where its due, he got it right on Saturday.<\/li>\n
- After a sloppy pass early on, John McGinn looked back to his very best. The Scotland international was everywhere. I questioned if he was peaking at the level Villa are currently at earlier in the week but if he can turn these performances in every week, he can push Villa on much higher up the table.<\/li>\n
- Watkins and Ings \u2013 Although both of them didn\u2019t score, the work they put in helped Villa massively. It hasn\u2019t worked with two up top so far but Gerrard stated that he told both players he doesn\u2019t want to leave either of them on the bench so they need to make it work all he will have no choice. They are both capable of even better but this performance was positive, hopefully, they can build on this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Next match<\/h2>\nAston Villa v Southampton<\/h4>\n
Saturday, 5th March 2022
\nVilla Park, Birmingham<\/p>\n
The Good.<\/h2>\n\n- Gerrard made Villa more narrow defensively and we looked much better for it. Yes, we were exploited out wide at times but we were able to deal with everything that was thrown at us. I have questioned Gerrard at times lately but credit where its due, he got it right on Saturday.<\/li>\n
- After a sloppy pass early on, John McGinn looked back to his very best. The Scotland international was everywhere. I questioned if he was peaking at the level Villa are currently at earlier in the week but if he can turn these performances in every week, he can push Villa on much higher up the table.<\/li>\n
- Watkins and Ings \u2013 Although both of them didn\u2019t score, the work they put in helped Villa massively. It hasn\u2019t worked with two up top so far but Gerrard stated that he told both players he doesn\u2019t want to leave either of them on the bench so they need to make it work all he will have no choice. They are both capable of even better but this performance was positive, hopefully, they can build on this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Next match<\/h2>\nAston Villa v Southampton<\/h4>\n
Saturday, 5th March 2022
\nVilla Park, Birmingham<\/p>\n
Next match<\/h2>\nAston Villa v Southampton<\/h4>\n
Saturday, 5th March 2022
\nVilla Park, Birmingham<\/p>\n