Hackett Exclusive: ‘Southampton may not like it’ after Aston Villa penalty award
Southampton slipped to yet another defeat in their clash with Aston Villa, and Keith Hackett has reacted to the stoppage time penalty that ultimately sealed victory for Unai Emery’s side.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Saints can have no complaints over the award of a penalty for a challenge by Jack Stephens on John McGinn.
This has been a disastrous season for the south coast club, who became the first Premier League team to be relegated with seven games to go after their defeat to Tottenham last weekend.
As a result, Southampton sacked manager Ivan Juric and put Simon Rusk in caretaker charge for the remainder of the season.
He though, was unable to oversee an immedaite turnaround in fortunes for the Saints in this clash with Unai Emery’s side.
Southampton beaten despite two penalty saves
Aston Villa would eventually run out 3-0 winners over Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday (12 April), following a late rally.
With the score at 0-0, substitute Ollie Watkins won a clear penalty for his side after a challenge from Jan Bednarek that Marco Asensio then saw saved by Aaron Ramsdale with 20 minutes of normal time to go.
Watkins produced an excellent finish to put Aston Villa ahead moments later, before Donyell Malen doubled their lead shortly after.
The visitors were then awarded a second penalty in stoppage time, when Stephens slid in on McGinn inside the area.
| Southampton last five games | Result |
| Liverpool (A) | Lost 3-1 |
| Wolves (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Crystal Palace (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Tottenham (A) | Lost 3-1 |
| Aston Villa (H) | Lost 3-0 |
Asensio completed his nightmare afternoon for Aston Villa by seeing another penalty saved, only for McGinn to tap home the rebound to scure all three points.
Now, Hackett has confirmed that the decision to give that second penalty against Southampton was the right one.
‘Aston Villa rightly get second penalty at St Mary’s’ – Keith Hackett
After being asked what he made by the challenge from Stephens that led to the visitors being given their second spot kick, the former referee said:
“It’s a careless challenge therefore the penalty kick’s the right decision. They might not like it but that is the right decision.”
Southampton will again look to get the win they need to avoid breaking Derby’s record for the lowest ever Premier League points tally when they travel to West Ham on Saturday (19 April).
Aston Villa meanwhile will have all their focus on the second leg of their Champions League quarter final with PSG on Tuesday (15 April), when they will look to overturn a 3-1 deficit at Villa Park.