Aston Villa have kept themselves well in contention for Champions League football after securing a point at West Ham United.
The two clubs played out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on Sunday (17 March), leaving Villa fourth in the table, three points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, although the latter do have a game in hand.
Having played in Europe just a few days before the trip to East London, Unai Emery certainly needed his squad players to step up.
And Galatasaray loanee Nicolo Zaniolo did just that, with the attacker netting a 79th-minute equaliser from the bench after Michail Antonio had given the hosts a first-half lead.
The Italian had only entered the fray for January arrival Morgan Rogers in the 63rd minute but was keen to make an impact, and he did just that when he poked home following a pass from Moussa Diaby.
The cameo will have definitely pleased Emery in the dugout, while it certainly caught the eye of pundit Alan Shearer.
Naming Zaniolo in his Team of the Week, Shearer told the official Premier League website (18 March): “Excellent impact when he was brought on by Unai Emery, scoring an equaliser that could prove vital for Villa in the top-four race.”
Nicolo Zaniolo rescues Aston Villa at the London Stadium
As per WhoScored, Zaniolo only registered 20 touches of the ball and indeed struggled to keep it, completing just 58.3% of his passes, but that’s all he needed.
He did at least win an aerial duel, while his touch tally certainly wasn’t the worst at the London Stadium, with teammate Jhon Duran registering just 13 touches despite playing the entire first half.
Thanks to Zaniolo’s well-taken goal, Villa are now unbeaten in their last five Premier League away matches, with three wins and two draws, last going longer without a defeat on the road in the competition between November 2008 and February 2009, which was a run of seven [official Premier League website, 17 March].
Hopefully, this can kickstart a good run of form between now and the end of the season.
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