Rogers, Tielemans react as Asensio speaks out on Aston Villa nightmare v Southampton
Marco Asensio has broken his silence after enduring a difficult personal afternoon in their clash with Southampton, with Aston Villa stars responding.
The attacker made the move to Villa Park on loan from PSG back in the January transfer window, and has impressed for Unai Emery‘s side.
Many Aston Villa fans have already called for the club to sign Asensio permanently at the end of this season.
Against the Saints on Saturday (12 April) though, things did not go at all well for the Spaniard in front of goal.
Marco Asensio sees two penalties saved by Aaron Ramsdale
Aston Villa would ultimately run out 3-0 winners over Southampton in that match at St Mary’s, although Asensio missed out on some big chances to get on the scoresheet.
With the game still locked at 0-0 in the 69th minute, substitute Ollie Watkins won a penalty for the visitors, only for Asensio to see his penalty saved by opposition goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Watkins then put Aston Villa 1-0 up with a stunning finish just moments later, before Donyell Malen doubled their advantage.
Asensio was then given the chance to atone for his earlier miss when John McGinn won a second penalty for his side in second half stoppage time.
Again though, Ramsdale would pull off a save to deny the 29-year-old, only for McGinn to tap home on the rebound.
| Marco Asensio vs Southampton | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Goals | 0 |
| Expected Goals | 1.64 |
| Penalties Missed | 2 |
| Shots on Target | 3 |
| Shots off Target | 1 |
| Successful Passes | 36/42 |
| Duels Won | 3/9 |
After such a frustrating afternoon, Asensio took to Instagram to send a message to Aston Villa supporters, as he wrote: “Sometimes these things can happen, the most important is to keep trying. Happy for another 3 points away. Thank you for the support villans!”
In response, a number of teammates were keen to show their support for their teammate, with Morgan Rogers commenting on that post with a loveheart emoji.
Youri Tielemans meanwhile responded with a hands raised and strength emoji, with Andres Garcia adding two flames for his response.
Other Aston Villa players such as Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Ian Maatsen, Matty Cash and Axel Disasi also liked that post from Asensio.
Aston Villa will not worry too much about penalty misses
Football Insider Verdict
Ultimately, those two misses from Asensio would not prove costly, with Emery’s side still picking up the three points they were expected to against the Premier League’s bottom side.
That has seen Aston Villa climb into fifth in the table, which will be enough to qualify for the Champions League this season.
As a result these squandered chances have not hurt the club, and so nobody is going to hold them against the attacker, especially with how good he has otherwise been since joining.
Even so, it would feel like something of a surprise if Asensio was to step up to take a penalty for Aston Villa again in the near future.