- Jhon Durán scored the only goal in his first start of the season in the Premier League
- Southampton enjoyed plenty of possession but could not avoid another defeat
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Jhon Durán marked his first start of the Premier League campaign with the winning goal and, more importantly, showed his Aston Villa coach Unai Emery that he can be trusted.
Durán has made clear his frustration at being used as a super substitute behind Ollie Watkins, but in 60mph winds he took advantage of a rare opportunity with the England striker rested for Tuesday’s Champions League match in Leipzig.
The 20-year-old Colombian showed all his abilities in his decisive goal midway through the first half.
When Saints defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis miscontrolled a long pass from Diego Carlos, Durán’s tenacity won the ball. He then stretched his legs to beat Nathan Wood and, with only Joe Lumley to beat, finished comprehensively from 12 yards.
It was Durán’s ninth goal of the season, but his first since late October in the EFL Cup against Crystal Palace, which was also his last game as a starter.
Emery was enthusiastic about his young protégé: “It was fantastic how he helped us with everything today, scoring goals and working.
Jhon Durán beat Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley to score the only goal of the game.
The Colombian striker enjoyed earning a point in his first start of the season in the Premier League.
Unai Emery turned his team with one eye in Tuesday’s Champions League match against Leipzig, and his bet paid off
‘We are very demanding with him and he does listen to us. Sometimes we have to stop his passion, but that is natural because he is young.
‘You want everything to happen quickly, but you need a process, sometimes faster and slower.
“Yes, he scored, but the most important thing today and what makes me most happy is his work. We are happy for him.”
Villa should have added more goals, but against the bottom team in the league, Southampton, one would always be enough.
The visitors did not have to make any stops and even their coach Russell Martin seems to be losing patience as his team only has five points on the scoreboard.
‘It’s really crazy. Fine lines hurt us a lot, the same thing happens,’ he said.
“The goal we conceded can’t happen. Either you pass the ball to a teammate or you defend it and clear it. We didn’t do either. It was difficult to deal with it.
Once behind, Saints rarely looked equal to their former Villa striker Cameron Archer when his shot was blocked by Boubacar Kamara. They didn’t have any shots on goal.
It’s more misery for Saints manager Russell Martin, whose team played well but without much threat.
Southampton looked better after bringing on Joe Aribo and James Bree (left) at half-time.
Ollie Watkins came off the bench but was unable to score as Villa cruised to a narrow victory.
Villa, on the other hand, could have added more. Pau Torres headed over from a Ross Barkley corner, Morgan Rogers unleashed a low cross and Watkins squandered a hat-trick of chances after coming on.
On one occasion, he faced Barkley instead of shooting himself, which indicated where his confidence is at the moment.
Equally, Southampton’s confidence is in tatters, but Martin still doesn’t want to be too harsh on his players.
‘The boys are trying, giving everything. “That’s all we can ask for,” he said.
“There is a lack of conviction and the quality of decision-making in the final third is not quite right and it was a bad goal to concede.”
One drawback for Villa, who have now climbed into a European spot after their second home win in a week, was that winger Leon Bailey limped off with a hamstring injury which rules him out of the Champions League this year. week.