5/10 The Aston Villa man showed he has 'stepped back' against Leipzig

It was only three clear points Aston Villa Playing away at RB Leipzig, e.g Unai EmeryThe 's men had to fight off two setbacks to win 3-2.

Hosts Marco Rose fought back to settle the scores in the match UEFA Champions League The equalizer – as the Bundesliga side took advantage of some shoddy Villa defending – but the effort ultimately came to nothing when Ross Barkley miscued a late-deflection effort off Peter Gulacsi.

Aside from Villa, who is providing some lackluster performances in the back line, Ollie Watkins He also struggled attacking, although his teammates loved life against an open Leipzig side.

Watkins' performance this season

The England international set up John McGinn to score in the opener, his header finding the Scot in the room to slot home just three minutes later, but he did little apart from picking up that assist.

Only Villa No. 11 will be mobilized 18 touches off the ball 45 minutes ago, with only one shot attempted on a crowded Golasski goal when he was still present in the back-and-forth.

He would be substituted at half-time after such a subdued display, and the decision to drop Watkins proved to be a genius one, with John Doran once again showing off his performance as an influential man.

Duran scored Villa's sensational second goal of the game with a thunderous effort, while also firing a quick shot home soon after, only for an offside call to sour the mood.

The goal was scored by the 20-year-old Tenth hit of the season Indeed, despite the limited starts coming his way.

In contrast, Watkins was more of a regular starter – having only played twice in all competitions – but Three goals less.

With huge 15 great opportunity Missing out on league action too, the former Brentford man – who He scored 27 times Final Act – He retreats from his best self, with the same depressing fate Emiliano Martinez Between the sticks.

Martinez retreated to Villa

Football journalist Jacob Tanswell will declare at the full-time whistle that the South American numbers are there “to retreat” This year, especially when it comes to asserting himself confidently outside the box.

Luis Obinda's equalizer on Tuesday night demonstrated Martinez's vulnerable nature as he attempted to win the ball back from a penalty kick up the pitch – in contrast to his previous strengths in that department – as the confident Belgian was able to get the better of the awkward goalkeeper by simply finishing off the chance with Martinez coming off his line. .

His poor performance in goal did not cost his side the dramatic win, as Duran and company stole the headlines with a lively performance in attack, but Martinez still took a low blow. Rating 5/10 Written by Daily Express journalist Fraser Watson, who simply described his 90 minutes as “a rare nightmarish evening”.

It's a decline even in this season alone, as the World Cup-winning goalkeeper was impressive against Bayern Munich in the same competition just a few months ago, with a hideous goal. Seven saves were recorded He helped his team achieve a 1-0 win.

His numbers in the Premier League for the season so far also highlight the fact that he is not performing as well as he did at his previous peak, with his record of preventing goals looking particularly stark so far this season compared to his production in 2023/24, coupled with fewer goals. Saves are made for each game along the way – as well as a smaller number of successful runs.

Of course, there is still a lot of work for the Argentine to change that narrative, but it's fair to say that Watkins and Martinez have been vulnerable to the offseason as of late.

However, it looks unlikely that either will be completely left out of Emery's squad next, as Villa look for a fourth successive win this weekend.

Related to

100% dribbles: 8/10 Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz could be Emery's next

Aston Villa almost beat RB Leipzig in the Champions League.