Ezri Konsa: Best to come from Leon Bailey after Manchester City strike
Ezri Konsa reckons the best is yet to come from Leon Bailey after the forward’s stunning equaliser earned Villa a point against Manchester City.
Bailey’s goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw was just his second in the Premier League since joining Villa from Bayer Leverkusen for £25million in August last year.
Konsa said: “The best is yet to come from him. He knows himself what he has to do to really kick on and show the quality he has.
“On Saturday, he really worked hard for the team. It is not just on the ball but the running off the ball, working hard and tracking back. He got the goal his performance deserved.
“I think it will mean a lot for him. Last season was a difficult one for him, in and out of the team with injuries and stuff. But he has really kicked on this season and showed his qualities and on Saturday, he saved us.
“If you know football, you follow football and have seen the Bundesliga, you see what the qualities he possessed before coming here. If we get that from him in the Premier League, it will be a massive help for us.”
Bailey’s 74th-minute strike cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener for the visitors. The Norwegian striker entered the match having scored hat-tricks in each of his previous two appearances but was kept quiet by Villa’s defence before converting Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint cross.
“We all know the quality De Bruyne possesses and it was one of those balls,” reflected Konsa. “I felt (goalkeeper) Emi Martinez was getting it so it kind of threw me off.
“And as soon as it went over his head it was a difficult one for me because it was right on the line of the goal and if I do try to make contact it’s either an own goal or it could go anywhere.
“It was just one of those very good balls and I can only praise him for the quality. The result feels amazing. Against one of the best teams in Europe we knew it was going to be a difficult.
“We knew they had a lot of quality and I thought we kept them quiet at the beginning of the game and then Emi made some big saves towards the end. We ground it out and got a point.
“It’s been a tough start. We haven’t won as many games as we would have liked. The gaffer told us we have nothing to fear and we went out and there and put our bodies on the line.”
