View: A trio of perfect hat-tricks for Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins, Gabby Agbonlahor and Tommy Johnson
Despite ten players netting Premier League hat-tricks for Aston Villa football club, only three have had the full compliment of finishes – left foot, right foot and a header.
You might not think it is an uncommon sight, given the vast number of hattricks scored across England’s top division over the years, but only 39 players have achieved the feat since the Premier League’s coronation.
Gabby Agbonlahor, Ollie Watkins and Tommy Johnson remain the only men in Aston Villa’s history books to complete this elusive scoring accomplishment.
Below are a reminder of these three perfect trebles.
Ollie Watkins v Liverpool (2020)
Where else to start than Villa’s 7-2 rout of Liverpool?
In a quite remarkable stretch of play, Watkins struck the perfect hattrick against Jurgen Klopp’s team within just 39 minutes.
His first came after just four minutes when Adrian conceded possession to Jack Grealish, who teed up the Villa forward for a simple left-footed finish.
The second was a beautifully crafted centre-forward’s goal, as Watkins slammed a shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the area after tormenting the Reds’ back four with a jinxing run.
The third goal of the set came as Matt Targett pinged a picture-perfect ball across the face of the goal, and the England international was left as free as a bird at the back post to nod home the simplest of finishes.
Gabriel Agbonlahor v Manchester City (2008)
Vintage Gabby really was something, wasn’t he?
Martin O’Neill’s star striker was on hand to hit a flashbang seven-minute treble against the Blues as he ran riot in the closing stages of their 4-2 win.
With the score delicately poised at 1-1, Agbonlahor was on hand to convert John Carew’s knockdown before meeting slipping past the City defence, unawares to direct Garth Barry’s clipped cross into the net with his head.
One of the fastest-ever Premier League hattricks – let alone the perfect treble – was completed when Barry unleashed Agbonlahor in behind Mark Hughes’ defence before the Englishman ran clear to fire beyond Joe Hart.
Tommy Johnson v Wimbledon (1995)
Johnson’s perfect hattrick is likely the one many fans have forgotten, but it came in Aston Villa’s joint biggest margin of victory ever – a 7-1 demolition of Wimbledon.
After Warren Barton volleyed the Dons ahead in the opening stages, ‘Super Tommy Johnson’ decided to take matters into his own hands with a rapid-fire 16-minute hattrick.
First off, there was a glancing header which was placed to perfection to beat the Wimbledon keeper at the near post, followed by a low-left footed strike that had just enough power to beat the Dons keeper, making it a quick-fire double.
The final goal was possibly the easiest goal he would have scored in his career, as he simply diverted Shaun Teale’s blasted strike into the net from mere inches away from the goal.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.