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Aston Villa had to rely on substitutes Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen, and John McGinn to find the back of the net.
Aston Villa skipper John McGinn (X)
Aston Villa closed to within three points of Forest and climbed into the top five after Unai Emery’s substitutes secured a 3-0 victory at already-relegated Southampton while writing a bit of Premier League history along the way.
Aston Villa had to rely on substitutes Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen, and John McGinn to find the back of the net.
Along the way to victory, Villa also scripted history, becoming the first Premier League club to have three substitutes score goals.
Watkins scored in the 73rd minute and Malen six minutes later after both came on midway through the second half to help lift Villa to fifth in the standings.
McGinn added the third as he followed up to convert the rebound after Aaron Ramsdale saved Marco Asensio’s stoppage-time penalty.
It was Southampton’s 13th home defeat of the season, setting a club record as they played for the first time since Monday’s sacking of manager Ivan Juric .
Villa, who host Paris St Germain in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday trailing 3-1, saw Asensio’s 69th-minute penalty saved.
However, Watkins stretched out his right foot to guide a precise long-range pass from Youri Tielemans into the net off the underside of the bar for the opening goal.
“I think that’s a very important goal for a start,” Watkins told reporters.
“Sometimes you need that bit of luck and a bit of magic. It was nice to see that one go in and that’s one of my favourites to be honest.”
Watkins made an immediate impact after coming on as he won a penalty when brought down by Jan Bednarek but Asensio’s left-foot effort was expertly saved with Ramsdale’s one-handed stop.
“It was about being patient and once we got that first one the chances started coming more frequently,” added Watkins, whose opener was quickly followed by a thrashing shot from Malen to double the lead.
Southampton remain on 10 points with two league wins and still need two points from their remaining six matches to eclipse Derby’s record-low haul of 11 points in the 2007-08 Premier League season.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)
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