Matt Le Tissier ‘surprised’ by how much possession Ipswich had against Aston Villa

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Aston Villa recorded a much-needed victory against Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon.

Matt Le Tissier has admitted that he was ‘surprised’ by how much possession Ipswich had during their 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa and claimed the penalty awarded to the home side was ‘harsh’.

Striker Tammy Abraham netted a brace against the bottom-of-the-table Championship club, with Paul Lambert’s men having 55 per cent possession of the ball during the match [BBC Sport].

Former Southampton striker Le Tissier offered his thoughts on the Championship encounter and stated that Ipswich didn’t really hurt the opposition despite seeing more of the ball.

“I’m watching the game and I saw the percentage of possession and I was surprised,” Le Tissier told Soccer Saturday on 26/01/2019. “It didn’t feel like Ipswich had 55 per cent of the possession.

“Most of that possession they did have was way away from Villa’s goal – a penalty at the back post, Judge was adjudged to have fouled [McGinn]. To be honest, I thought it was really harsh.”

Chelsea loanee Abraham netted his 18th and 19th goals of the season to help Dean Smith’s side to a morale-boosting three points after a number of poor performances in recent weeks.

With the home side leading 1-0, Ipswich’s Alan Judge was punished for pulling back Villa midfielder John McGinn as he tried to ghost in front of him following a corner.

Freddy Sears did pull one back with 14 minutes left on the clock when his long-range effort was too hot to handle for Villa keeper Lovre Kalinic.

But that was not enough as Villa secured their first three points of 2019 and moved within four points of sixth-placed Derby County, who have a game in hand on their rivals.

Following that win, Villa will now be preparing for an away trip to relegation-threatened Reading next Saturday – the Royals picked up a point during the reverse fixture in September.