Danny Ings missed a big opportunity in Aston Villa’s Premier League defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe says.
The lowdown
Villa fell to a fourth straight defeat in the Saturday evening clash following a hat-trick from Son Heung-min and a strike from Dejan Kulusevski.
But the 4-0 scoreline perhaps didn’t reflect the balance of the chances, with Villa forcing Hugo Lloris to make seven saves in the first half alone – the most by a Spurs keeper in the opening period since Opta records began in 2006/07.
Ings, who’s scored five goals for Villa in all competitions this season, returned to the starting line-up after missing last weekend’s defeat against Wolves (via Transfermarkt).
And the former Southampton man spurned a chance to level for his side when Ollie Watkins flick on fell to him on the left edge of the six-yard box and he fired his shot wide of the target.
The latest
Commentating on the match for Sky Sports, Hinchliffe said that he expected Ings to take the opportunity and bemoaned Aston Villa’s profligacy.
“A striker of his experience should be burying this,” he said.
“He just completely mistimes it. As the ball drops on the half-volley, he should be tucking it home, back across Lloris.”
He added: “He has a good view of the goal and he completely messes it up.
“He’s maybe under a bit of pressure from Emerson Royal but he should be scoring.
“How many chances are Villa going to miss?”
The verdict
Ings was on the pitch for 70 minutes before Steven Gerrard sent on Leon Bailey in his place, and he must have been frustrated as he left the field.
SofaScore defined the aforementioned opening as a ‘big chance’, and he might also have scored when Philippe Coutinho chipped a quick free-kick over the wall, only for the Englishman to fail to make clean contact.
The £19.8million-rated frontman only touched the ball 29 times – the lowest figure among Villa’s starting outfielders – but still could have made a decisive impact.
Three of his shots were blocked, and another two missed the target. Will Gerrard keep faith with the striker for the trip to Leicester City later this month?
In other news, Villa are willing to sell this sensation.