Ollie Watkins was left disappointed after Aston Villa exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of Manchester United on Thursday night.
After an uneventful first 45 minutes at Old Trafford, the striker’s goal sparked the game into life shortly after the restart.
Villa led twice on the night before ultimately losing 4-2, leaving Watkins to rue what might have been.
He said: “We’re obviously disappointed to lose after taking the lead twice.
“I felt we looked comfortable, and we created a lot of chances. It was an exciting game in the second half, but we’re disappointed to come away with nothing.”
“We got excitement from the first goal and went to get on the front foot right from kick-off,” Watkins added.
“They caught us off guard, collectively, as a team. We responded so well and got that second goal. From then on, we looked comfortable.
“It was a shame that they’ve pushed forward and created a lot of chances after that.”
Unai Emery began his reign as head coach with a 3-1 success against the Red Devils in the Premier League on Sunday, and his side once again displayed positive signs on Thursday.
Watkins says the team are coming to terms with the Spaniard’s tactics, and hopes they can head into the World Cup break on a high by securing a good result against Brighton on Sunday.
“Everyone’s buying into what he’s asking us to do,” the forward said.
“Collectively, we’re working hard as a team and we’re making a lot more passes and creating chances.
“I think there are positives to take, even though we’ve lost the game tonight.”
He added: “We’ve got a long wait until the next game after that (Brighton), so the main goal is to go and get three points.
“Hopefully we can have a good away day there like we did last year.”
