Alan Shearer wades in on controversial Aston Villa incident during Wolves clash
Aston Villa had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Molineux on Sunday but had appeals for a penalty turned down
Pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy believe Aston Villa should have had a penalty against Wolves on Sunday afternoon.
It comes from an incident where Watkins was through on goal, only for a push from Wolves defender Matt Doherty to knock him off balance and cause him to skew his shot wide. Appeals for a penalty were immediately waved away by the referee, and the incident was discussed on Match of the Day 2.
Shearer and Murphy were both clear that Watkins should have been awarded a spot kick which, if converted, would have put Villa 2-1 up. “If he doesn’t shove him, he’s getting a clear shot at goal,” Shearer said.
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“Clearly he shoves him, enough for him to be off balance there. That’s why he misses the target as he does. For me, that should have been a penalty.”
Fellow pundit Danny Murphy added: “It’s a classic case of: because he got the shot off, they didn’t give it. If he’d have just gone over and left the ball, they’d have given it.”
Analysing Watkins’ performance overall, Murphy said: “Villa: tremendous start to the season. A big plus is Ollie Watkins who’s just had his England call up – deservedly so – new contract, scoring lots of goals. He didn’t score today, but he played really, really well.
“I’d say he’s probably playing as well as I’ve ever seen him. He looks fit, he looks strong, he looks confident.
“He’s got real intent in his play. He’s good with the ball now. He’s always been good at running in behind. Another assist, contributing to goals is what he does. He’s relentless as well. He doesn’t stop.”
Again, Shearer agreed. “It highlights how important he is to Aston Villa,” he said. “He’s enjoying his football, obviously, hence he’s signed his new contract. He’s playing really, really well.”
