- Derby stalemate at Villa Park
- Winger could have sealed three points
- Missed a glorious late opportunity
WHAT HAPPENED? Two West Midlands rivals shared the points at Villa Park on Wednesday, with Danny Ings cancelling out an early opener from Daniel Podence. Bailey had an opportunity to claim a vital victory for Villa late on, but the 25-year-old fired wide with a gaping goal at his mercy after rounding Wolves keeper Jose Sa – leaving him in tears at the final whistle.
WHAT THEY SAID: Bailey posted on social media afterwards: “I am really sorry, Villans. I feel at blame for not coming away with all three points tonight. It's really hard to take and I'm very disappointed in myself. Surely will be very difficult to sleep tonight, but I'll try to keep my head up. Thank you for the great support tonight.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Villa boss Unai Emery said of a surprising show of emotion from a winger that has struggled for form and fitness across 18 months in England: “I’m happy with him, he was crying but it is good because he was feeling. He was taking responsibility to score and he didn’t do it. He can feel this responsibility. I’m very happy with his commitment and performance, he was playing inside and outside. It was good to learn more with him. At the end we had chances to score and win with a huge opportunity with Leon Bailey, we can be happy because we created it. They (the players) were supporting him and trying to improve for the next matches when he will have the same chances.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Instagram
Getty
GettyWHAT NEXT? Bailey has scored four goals for Villa this season, having only managed one effort during his debut campaign in 2021-22, and will be hoping to make a decisive contribution if selected to figure in a FA Cup third round clash with League Two side Stevenage on Sunday.