When it comes to Premier League goals, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have held a monopoly over the past 18 months.
That Ollie Watkins has surpassed the latter and is breathing down the neck of the former is testament to just how far the England international has come.
No wonder Unai Emery has claimed he is among the best in Europe at putting the ball in the back of the net, having scored his 15th and 16th goals of the Premier League season in the first half of Aston Villa’s dramatic 3-2 win over Luton.
After 45 minutes the hosts looked set for home defeat number nine, a Watkins double putting Aston Villa in the driving seat, but a comeback featuring Tahith Chong, Carlton Morris and, of course, those 10,000 Hatters supporters, had the hosts heading for a thoroughly deserved and well-earned result.
Yet, with a massive point there for the taking, Luton saw it slip through their fingers with two Emery substitutes combining, Moussa Diaby putting it on a plate for Lucas Digne in the 89th minute to secure three points that both consolidated his side’s Champions League push and crushed the hopes of his opponents.
Lucas Digne scored a dramatic late winner as Aston Villa boosted their top-four hopes
A picture-perfect header and an emphatic finish into the corner on the sprint – Watkins was the ever-present thorn in the Luton defence on Saturday night despite the impressive Teden Mengi’s best efforts.
‘Fantastic, brilliant, an example for other players, everyday he works hard, tries to learn more, to increase his level, practicing and practicing on the training ground,’ said Emery of his star man.
‘Defensively, he was fantastic. He is scoring, getting chances, assisting and defending set-pieces and is available to play 90 minutes more or less keeping his fitness is fantastic.’
Watkins’ progress has catapulted him into the conversation for one of the most hotly-contested Golden Boots in football, and for his boss there is no doubting his stature as one of Europe’s finest marksmen.
‘Yes of course, he’s showing that,’ The Villa boss added. ‘The Premier League is the toughest league in the world and he is being amazing here. As a person he’s humble, he doesn’t let his ego change him. He’s fantastic as a person and as an individual.
‘The coach of the national team has to decide, but he deserves to be there and defend the England national team.’
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins scored a first-half brace against Luton on Saturday
Watkins opened the scoring with a deft header in the 24th minute at Villa Park
Watkins took his season’s tally to 16 Premier League goals by slotting home the second
Watkins stayed high, in theory limiting his influence on the game, but if this game had a star it was undoubtedly him. If not for a certain Mr Kane, there is no doubt the Villa star would be leading the line in Germany.
These were three points won in the first half but so very nearly thrown away in the second.
Luton fought back with goals from Chong and Morris which looked to be enough for an important morale-boosting draw, before a quadruple substitution gave the visitors the edge late on.
The Hatters boss had called for his side’s supporters to give everything, and there’s no doubting their contributions in that regard. What will worry Edwards, though, is that his secret weapon was not enough. Even at 2-2, with the home games now running out, there was a feeling that even a point would not do.
‘I feel like we don’t deserve to after the performance and the chances we created, it’s really difficult to take right now,’ said Edwards.
‘I think it’s probably the angriest I’ve been today. Everyone gets fixated on scorelines – there was lots to like about the first half, we were a lot more solid than against City, but it’s so difficult to get in behind them, they’re so well organised, it’s hard to create chances.
‘The crowd were brilliant, it hurts to concede so late on. There’s so much to like about how we played against such a brilliant team. We’ve done that before.
‘I’ll struggle to sleep tonight but I’ll sleep better knowing we’ve performed well, and our fans can see that we’ve given everything. I want us to be good to watch and score goals, but we need to try and shut teams out. Today a few basic things went wrong and we didn’t shut them out.’
While Aston Villa are staring at the prospect of Champions League football next season, their fate very much in their own hands.
Luton are now running out of chances to cut the deficit at the bottom. In their next six, they face Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham. To make matters worse, all of those come on the road.
Tahith Chong gave Luton hope with a goal after a scramble in the box in the 66th minute
Carlton Morris equalised in 72nd minute with controlled volley from Alfie Doughty’s free-kick
Luton fans spent the best part of an hour telling anyone in a 100-mile radius that they were staying up, and for most of the second half it was very easy to believe them.
Villa, though, brought those 10,000 crashing back down to reality at the death, and Luton will have to dust themselves off quickly indeed if they are to have a hope of fulfilling their promise.
