Analysis: Unai Emery managing deep resources well as Aston Villa continue to climb

On Saturday at Southampton the number brought only joy for Villa. Three substitutes, three goals and three points which moved Unai Emery’s team within striking distance of third-placed Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The 3-0 victory was the third in a row away from home in the league without conceding for a squad which has rediscovered the art of winning on the road and can lay serious claim to being the strongest, if not certainly the healthiest unit, in the top-flight right now. This was the first time three players had come off the bench and scored in a Premier League match.

There will be few plaudits, of course, for beating Southampton, a team which still has work to do to avoid being remembered as the league’s worst ever.

Yet for 72 minutes the Saints had done a good job of frustrating a Villa side who knew they simply could not afford to slip-up and drop points on a weekend when their rivals in the race for Champions League football were also favoured to win.

When Aaron Ramsdale guessed right and saved Marco Asensio’s penalty diving to his left, the nightmare scenario loomed that bit larger for Emery’s men.

But then Youri Tielemans arched a pass over the top of the home defence and Ollie Watkins, who had already won the penalty in the seven minutes he had been on the pitch, stretched out and somehow lifted a finish over the Saints keeper and in off the bar.

It was the striker’s 73rd Premier League goal for Villa and while there have been few finer finishes, like so many before it felt perfectly timed.

Watkins would be the first to admit this season has not quite lived up to his own lofty expectations. There have been a few too many big chances missed. It is why his position on the bench in four out of five matches since the international break, with Emery instead choosing to field Marcus Rashford as centre-forward, wasn’t nearly so shocking as it would have been a few months ago.

Saturday, however, was a reminder of why Watkins remains the man for the big moment and how, when Villa really need a goal, he is so often the one to deliver. Of the 15 he has scored in all competitions this season, 13 have either drawn Emery’s team level or put them ahead. He is now just one strike shy of equalling Gabriel Agbonlahor’s Premier League club record and the only disappointment at St Mary’s was he did not get the chance to take Villa’s second penalty, in stoppage time, which again Asensio was unable to convert.

Watkins had won the first when he raced on to a Morgan Rogers through ball less than two minutes after entering the action, only to be brought down by one-time Villa loanee Jan Bednarek. His willingness to run in behind instantly made the team more dangerous and while Rashford has done decently enough in a central role, it would be a surprise if Emery was not now convinced to start Watkins in Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

Donyell Malen is unavailable to play in that fixture but the Netherlands international appears ready to play a major role in Villa’s quest to secure a return to Europe’s elite competition for next season. The finish for his goal, which came six minutes after Watkins, might not have been quite so exquisite, yet it spoke volumes of a player now brimming with confidence after netting in each of his last three appearances, drilled into the bottom corner after collecting Morgan Rogers’ pass.

Malen would have had cause to feel a little aggrieved at not starting, one week after scoring what proved to be the winner against Nottingham Forest. Yet his and Watkins’ key cameos here were both the latest demonstration of the depth of resources at Emery’s disposal and proof the manager is, until now, doing a rather good job at managing them. Five of Villa's last eight league goals have been scored by substitutes.

Asensio’s penalty misses were the only real blot on the day but even they ended up being rendered mere statistical curiosity. The Spain international became just the fourth player to fail twice from the spot in a Premier League match, 20 years after former Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel became the first. After a near perfect start to life at Villa Park, here was evidence even Asensio is human.

The second miss didn’t matter as John McGinn converted the rebound. On Tuesday, the Scot will lead his team out for what promises to be one of the biggest nights at Villa Park for decades.

But though Emery’s men might be firm outsiders to overturn a two-goal deficit against PSG and advance to the Champions League semi-finals, their odds on making a return to the competition next season are now much shorter. The manager’s ability to juggle his squad and still get results bodes well for the crucial four day period around Easter and matches against Newcastle and Manchester City which should go a long way to deciding the race.

Right now the statistics do not lie. Since the start of January, only leaders Liverpool have taken more points than Villa in the Premier League. At the point of the season when the best teams find an extra gear, you could not feel better about their chances.