Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Sat 7 February 2026 17:06, UK

Ollie Watkins was an unpopular figure at Vitality Stadium during Aston Villa’s 1-1 with Bournemouth on Saturday.

Villa received a big Watkins injury scare during their Europa League win over Red Bull Salzburg on 29 January, with the striker limping off with a hamstring complaint.

However, Watkins was declared fit to face Bournemouth on Saturday as Villa aimed to bounce back from their 1-0 loss to Brentford on 1 February.

For many teams, the England international is the one to watch for Unai Emery‘s side, particularly after scoring more than 15 Premier League goals in each of the past two seasons.

And he was certainly not flying under the radar in the early exchanges of this Premier League clash on the south coast.

Bournemouth fans jeer Ollie Watkins at Vitality Stadium

Bournemouth, who had risen to 12th in the table after three wins in their last four league matches, shot out of the blocks and were unlucky not to go ahead against the visitors.

Villa mustered zero shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, while Bournemouth conjured six of their own as Andoni Iraola’s side started on top.

The home team and their fans were well up for this one and roared their disapproval at Watkins when he clashed with Bournemouth’s Alex Jimenez right at the start of the game.

The two could be seen angrily mouthing off at each other following a coming together in the first minute of the fixture, something The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell alluded to.

For a long time after that in the first half, Watkins was booed by the home crowd every time he touched the ball. Incidentally, inside the opening 25 minutes, the 30-year-old thought he had given the away side the lead when he tucked in Morgan Rogers’ cutback, only for the effort to be ruled offside.

But England star Rogers did give Villa the lead against the run of play in the 22nd minute with an emphatic strike past Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

In the 35th minute, Watkins was involved in some pushing and shoving again after Emi Buendia appealed for a penalty, something the Bournemouth players reacted angrily to. The Argentine and Jimenez were then cautioned following the melee.

• Read more: Unai Emery to regret Ollie Watkins call as Aston Villa starting XI named to face Bournemouth

Aston Villa have chance to reignite Premier League title bid

Unfortunately for Villa, they couldn’t hold onto their lead as 19-year-old Rayan scored a superb solo goal to make it 1-1 in the 55th minute for his first Premier League goal.

Incidentally, Villa have gone from being a side that looked devoid of fight and motivation at the start of the season to one challenging for the title.

Heading into this Premier League match week, Villa sat third in the table, one point behind second-placed Manchester City and seven points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.

Villa have a raft of injury issues but still have an outside chance of claiming their first ever Premier League title.

And their upcoming fixtures present an opportunity to claw back some points on Mikel Arteta’s high-flying Arsenal side.

Home fixtures against out-of-form Brighton, Newcastle United, who struggle away from home, and lowly Leeds United, along with a trip to Premier League basement side Wolves, could see Emery’s men rise up the league.

If not, their hopes of silverware are likely to be over.