‘The moment was perfect’
Bailey ends EPL goal drought as Villa split points with Man City; Antonio scores against Chelsea
Published:Sunday | September 4, 2022 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
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Jamaican winger Leon Bailey chose the perfect moment to score his first English Premier League (EPL) goal in almost a year, helping to stop his club’s poor form and deny Manchester City the top spot in the league in their 1-1 draw at Villa Park...
Jamaican winger Leon Bailey chose the perfect moment to score his first English Premier League (EPL) goal in almost a year, helping to stop his club’s poor form and deny Manchester City the top spot in the league in their 1-1 draw at Villa Park yesterday.
Bailey was one of two Reggae Boyz who scored in yesterday’s action, as Michail Antonio scored for West Ham United, but in a losing cause, as they went down 1-2 against Chelsea FC.
While life at Aston Villa has not been easy for Bailey, his 74th-minute finish cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 50th-minute opener as Villa picked up their first point in three games, taking the pressure off manager Steven Gerrard.
Bailey, who was making his second consecutive start, his third overall after coming off the bench against Everton, Crystal Palace and West Ham between August 13 and 28 last year, the winner said everything was timed just right for the goal.
“The moment was perfect. The space was there. Jacob (Ramsey) did an excellent run to pick out the pass to me and I think the finish was really great,” said Bailey.
“I couldn’t ask for a better finish than that. It was an exciting feeling to see the fans excited that we got back into the game,” added the Jamaican.
Staying healthy
Despite being previously winless in three games and given his problems of staying healthy last season, Bailey said that he had a good feeling about his team’s chances going up against power house City.
“I don’t know, I just woke up this morning and I just felt good about today (yesterday) for some reason. I thought today was going to be a good day for us,” Bailey admitted. “We just have to stay confident and believe in ourselves.”
The Reggae Boy added: “The experienced players and the elder players in the group, even though it hasn’t been so great for us, have really lifted the spirits of the players, and I think that’s what’s important going into such a big game.
“Going out there from the first minute, everybody was on their toes, everybody was working for each other. It wasn’t going our way in the first half, but we had to stick in there and work our (butts) off,” Bailey said.
The Jamaican’s first season at the club was riddled with injury issues as he missed two months because of a thigh problem and was not in the squad for the last month of the season. He would make only 18 appearances with one goal to his credit, which was against Everton on September 18, 2021.
Summer move
He was also linked with a summer move to Dutch club Ajax, with his guardian/agent Craig Butler telling footballtransfers.com on August 29 that a transfer could be possible with concerns about him not seeing the field consistently.
Still, they have stuck with Villa and Bailey credited Gerrard’s approach in instilling confidence in the team, despite a difficult run.
“He didn’t let anyone feel pressured or anything and I think that was so important for the team. Everybody understands that we are in a tough situation but he is confident in everybody. He just wanted us to bring the best version of ourselves,” Bailey shared.
Aston Villa, who are in 17th place, will play away to Leicester City on September 10, before hosting Southampton on September 16, the final game before the September international break.