Luton Town 2-3 Aston Villa
by Layth Yousif
at Kenilworth Road 

IN-FORM Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins must surely be in contention to start England’s forthcoming international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley later this month, following another superb performance for Unai Emery’s Champions League chasing side. 

The talented 28-year-old grabbed a brace to help Villa on their way to a hectic 3-2 victory over Luton Town, to become the only player to be in double figures for goals and assists in England’s top flight this season so far. 

In front of 11,594 at atmospheric Kenilworth Road on Saturday evening, the former Brentford striker’s double took him up to 16 Premier League goals, the best tally of his career, and only behind Manchester City behemoth Erling Haaland.

Speaking after the match that saw Villa maintain a five-point lead over fifth-place Spurs, Watkins said: “The manager’s got a lot of faith in me. I feel like my game understanding’s got a lot better, my movement, and also saving energy.

“Sometimes, when I got the opportunity on goal, I’d be a bit tired because I’d been chasing defenders. I’m a little bit smarter and the mentality is that, if I miss a chance, I know I’m going to bury the next one.

“I didn’t have that before so I’m feeling really confident.”

The Villains certainly started confidently, with Watkins guiding his header past Hatters keeper Thomas Kaminski from Leon Bailey’s on 24 minutes to make it 1-0 to the visitors. 

The lead was doubled 14 minutes later when Watkins’s expertly taken finish put Emery’s impressive side 2-0 up after latching onto Douglas Luiz’s ball — which saw VAR award the strike after it was initially ruled out. 

However, after a disappointing opening 45 minutes for Rob Edwards’ side — who went into the game on the back of a four-game losing streak which included the 6-2 shellacking by Manchester City in the FA Cup earlier in the week — the home side came out fighting for the second half. 

Tahith Chong pulled a goal back for 2-1 on 66 minutes, forcing the ball over the line after a goalmouth melee to make it game on, prior to the indefatigable Carlton Morris levelled on 72 minutes for the Hatters following an excellent ball from Alfie Doughty — to send the majority of Kenilworth Road into raptures at the comeback, with the prospect of a grandstand finish to come. 

Yet it was Villa, through Lucas Digne’s header, that grabbed all three points with the visitors third in the 89th minute to make the score 3-2 and seal an enthralling match for the neutral. 

Speaking after the match, Emery said of his team that cemented their position in fourth, moving onto 55 points: “We showed character and the right mentality. We conceded two goals but our reaction was fantastic. The impact was brilliant and there was a big commitment to help the team.”

As for 18th-placed Luton, they remain mired in the relegation zone on 20 points, four adrift of Nottingham Forest above them in a position of safety, as Edwards will continue to strive to turn redoubtable battling performances into points.