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Jan 21, 2020 at 7.30pm UK
Aston Villa
2-1
Watford
Luiz (68'), Mings (95')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Deeney (38')
/esi/1339/6_G_1_92736/index.html?art_id=386986&game_id=92736&sport_id=1&ESI

Dean Smith calls for concentration as Villa move out of drop zone

:Headline: Dean Smith calls for concentration as Villa move out of drop zone:
Tyrone Mings deflected in Ezri Konsa's shot to earn Aston Villa a crucial victory.
PA | 9d

Boss Dean Smith has thrown down the survival gauntlet to Aston Villa after their last-gasp win over Watford.

Tyrone Mings' winner – when Ezri Konsa's drive hit his leg – in the fifth minute of stoppage time earned Villa a 2-1 victory which could have huge importance at the bottom of the table.

They trailed at the break to Troy Deeney's header but Douglas Luiz hauled them level midway through the second half before the late drama.

The win lifted Villa out of the Premier League's relegation zone and above the Hornets, who drop into the bottom three.

Smith's side are now 16th, two points clear of Bournemouth, after taking four points off drop rivals Watford and Brighton in their last two games.

He said: "We have to keep concentrating on the next game. The next one in the Premier League is against Bournemouth – another team below us.

"Catching the teams above you and overtaking them, that's the players' job at the moment. Teams of mine finish the season better and I'm expecting a better points haul in the second half.

"It's the biggest win at this moment because it's the latest one. We have to concentrate on each game.

"With Watford being around us and giving us a good hiding at their place I said before the game it would be a different Villa team they faced.

"It was an important one because Villa Park is an important place for us in this league."

Defeat ended Watford's six-game revival which had seen Nigel Pearson haul them off the bottom of the table.

They looked like continuing their run when Deeney gave them the lead seven minutes before the break, heading in Gerard Deulofeu's cross.

Pepe Reina's save denied Deeney a second after the break and Luiz levelled after 68 minutes, following up after Ben Foster parried Matt Targett's shot.

But Villa snatched victory in injury time when, after Watford failed to deal with a deep free-kick, the ball ran to Konsa and his strike clipped Mings on the floor to find the corner.

Konsa had the news broken to him Sky Sports that he was not to be credited with the goal – he joked that he was "heartbroken" while Mings added: "The three points is the most important thing – but once you've got the three points, it's also nice to score!"

Smith, who also confirmed he expects new signing Mbwana Samatta to have his visa by the end of the week, added: "I'm not sure what part of (Mings') anatomy it came off but he's certainly claiming it, unlucky for Ezri."

The Hornets now sit second bottom, in the relegation zone on goal difference, but boss Pearson kept defeat in perspective.

"I think we're a bit unlucky but that's life and we'll deal with it," he said.

"It's easy to reflect on performances when things go your way, we've been a bit unlucky.

"Tonight is a disappointing situation, the players have shown an incredible amount of resolve and commitment to get the right results.

"It's not always going to be a positive outcome and providing the players always show the right intent in games and show commitment then that's going to be the most important thing moving forward.

"We had a couple of opportunities to maybe extend the lead and that didn't quite happen for us.

"A draw would have been a relatively fair result. There are going to be setbacks and tonight's one of them, it's important we deal with it pretty quickly."

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool24231056154170
2Manchester CityMan City24163565273851
3Leicester CityLeicester24153652242848
4Chelsea2412484132940
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd249783629734
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs249783832634
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2481063532334
8Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd248972523233
9Southampton2494113142-1131
10Arsenal2461263234-230
11Crystal Palace247982228-630
12Everton2486102835-730
13Burnley2493122838-1030
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2486102436-1230
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2467112734-725
16Aston Villa2474133145-1425
17West Ham UnitedWest Ham2465132740-1323
18Bournemouth2465132337-1423
19Watford2458112136-1523
20Norwich CityNorwich2445152447-2317
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Serie A Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Juventus21163240211951
2Inter Milan21146142182448
3Lazio20144247192846
4Roma21116438231539
5Atalanta BCAtalanta21115557282938
6AC Milan219482226-431
7CagliariCagliari218763632431
8Parma219482927231
9Hellas VeronaHellas Verona208572522329
10Torino2183102635-927
11Bologna217683233-127
12Napoli217683029127
13Fiorentina216782529-425
14Udinese2173111933-1424
15SassuoloSassuolo2165103235-323
16Sampdoria2155112033-1320
17Lecce2137112342-1916
18Genoa2136122141-2015
19Brescia2143141939-2015
20SPALSPAL2143141533-1815
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