Ollie Watkins claimed his 11th goal of the Premier League season as Aston Villa dismantled Sheffield United 5-0 at Bramall Lane on Saturday evening.
Unai Emery’s high-flying side returned to winning ways with a five-star display against Chris Wilder’s struggling XI, settling the score after just 47 minutes played in South Yorkshire.
Goals from John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Alex Moreno, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins saw five different scorers on the sheet for the first time since 2009 however, one individual stole the headlines.
Scoring in the 16th minute wasn’t the only high of the Englishman’s performance as he secured two assists to take his goal contributions tally to 21 in the league, with only Mohamed Salah recording more with 22 for Liverpool.
Most notably, it isn’t just the Premier League that Villa’s £130k-per-week talisman is heating up, with his three goal contributions against the Blades making him the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach 10+ goals and record 10+ assists this season.
Following the game, the striker showed his ruthless attitude towards scoring in an interview with Sky Sports, saying; “People say I’m a bit selfish, but I want to score goals.”
With 11 goals and 12 assists in 23 Premier League games, Watkins has once again asserted his status as one of the sharpest shooters in Europe, being the first of an overwhelming array of talent in the continent to reach such a milestone in the 2023/2024 campaign.
Ollie Watkins outperforming Jude Bellingham and more
The likes of Erling Haaland and Salah will be names circulated when the elite forwards of the Premier League are mentioned, but Villa’s clinical asset is not far behind the star duo in terms of their ruthless streak in the final third.
With an average of 0.84 goal-creating actions per 90 in the top-flight this term, no forward has contributed more in that decimal than Watkins, reinforcing his lethal status as a reliable outlet for goals.
Not even Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham or Paris Saint-Germain talisman Kylian Mbappe has managed this feat this season either.
After Tottenham Hotspur’s last-gasp draw at Everton, Villa leapfrogged the Lilywhites to occupy fourth place and just five points from the summit.
Speaking after his side’s win at Bramall Lane, Emery lauded the 28-year-old’s consistency and “good work”, ending his praise for the England international by saying: “This is Ollie Watkins.”
With a venomous streak now evident, the Villans can enjoy their top-four charge with the Englishman leading the line, as their £28m acquisition pulls ahead from the rest in Europe thanks to his stellar form.
Aside from the forward’s domestic hopes for 2024, Watkins will undoubtedly look towards this summer’s European Championships, with his name surely now a certainty for Gareth Southgate’s England hopefuls.
