Leon Osman blown away by ‘beautiful’ moment in Everton loss v Aston Villa
Jarrad Branthwaite was “sloppy” in the lead-up to Ollie Watkins’ winner as Everton lost 1-0 to Aston Villa on Wednesday, according to Leon Osman.
However, the player-turned-pundit was impressed by the way in which Morgan Rogers set up Watkins for the goal at Goodison Park on 15 January, describing his pass as “beautiful”.
Osman, who also provided his thoughts on a controversy involving Amadou Onana, pointed out how Rogers’ “lovely” ball left both James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford with no chance of getting to the ball, while Watkins could comfortably pick his spot.
“I don’t think this is lucky, I think it’s sloppy from Everton, Branthwaite just trying to pass that back, from that moment Aston Villa break-in”, Osman said on Premier League Productions‘ world feed (15 January, 8:38 pm).
“What a lovely weighted pass that is through to goalscorer Ollie Watkins. Rogers with a beautiful pass right into the space, giving James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford no chance of getting the ball.
“Watkins was always the favourite, didn’t need to break his stride, just needed to pick a spot, and he did so brilliantly.”
Everton disappoint on David Moyes return v Aston Villa
The game against Aston Villa was Moyes’ first match back in charge of the Merseyside-based club.
With the game being at Goodison Park, the stage was set for the Scot to get his second spell on Merseyside off to a flying start.
There was hope that the new-manager bounce, provided by Moyes, would get the best out of the players against Villa.
However, that was not to be as Unai Emery’s side looked the better side for most of the game.
Considering Villa moved to seventh place in the Premier League after the win, there is no shame in losing to them by a one-goal margin.
However, it is worth noting that the Goodison Park outfit are only a point above the relegation zone after 20 games.
Moyes will have to work his magic as soon as possible if he wants to steer Everton away from the drop zone and keep them in the Premier League this season.
In other Everton news, a new Branthwaite to Manchester United transfer update has dropped.
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