Morgan Rogers hits nail on the head with Ollie Watkins message after Aston Villa vs Man City
Morgan Rogers has described Ollie Watkins as “the best” after his brace saw Aston Villa secure a final day victory over Man City.
Unai Emery‘s side tore up the final day script at the Etihad, as Man City said goodbye to their legendary manager, Pep Guardiola.
With it being the Catalonian’s final game in charge of the Cityzens, it looked destined to end in a home win.
However, Aston Villa decided to spoil the party somewhat, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory after Antoine Semenyo had put City ahead in the first half.
Indeed, Watkins was the man of the moment, as his second-half double sent a clear reminder as to why he’s still one of the top strikers in the Premier League.
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What did Morgan Rogers say about Ollie Watkins?
Watkins has had his Aston Villa critics in 2025-26, having endured a slow first-half of the season in terms of goalscoring production for a player of his proven stature in front of goal.
He was even snubbed from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the March internationals, bringing his World Cup chances into major doubt at the time.
| Watkins vs Man City | Result |
| Pass accuracy | 93% |
| Shots taken | 4 |
| Touches in Man City box | 7 |
| Ground duels won | 4/5 |
| Aerial duels won | 3/3 |
Thankfully for him and Aston Villa, the 30-year-old was able to channel that Three Lions frustration into a brilliant run of form over the final weeks of the campaign, netting 13 times in his final 16 games in all competitions.
Against Man City, Watkins was superb, seldom losing an individual duel either on the ground or in the air, whilst his second goal was a real collector’s item too.
In the hours after the full-time whistle blew at the Etihad to bring the curtain down on a fabulous season for the Villans, Rogers took to his Instagram account to show just how much he thinks of Watkins.
“The best man, how could you ever say anything bad about him,” Rogers asked regarding Villa’s number 11, which he accompanied with a number of heart emojis.
How good were Watkins’ 2025-26 underlying numbers?
That’s an extremely fair and valid question Rogers poses about Watkins, and the answer to it is simple, and that is you can’t have anything bad to say.
Even despite the fact this hasn’t been his best campaign for Aston Villa, his underlying stats show why you can’t take a striker like him for granted if you’re a Villa fan, as the grass may not be greener without him.
As per FotMob, Watkins’ 15.1 non-penalty xG (expected goals) ranked him in the top 4.1 percentile of Premier League strikers in 2025-26.
Meanwhile, his 83 shots and 38 on target put him in the top 6.1 per cent, whilst his 177 touches in the opposition box placed him in the leading 4.1 percentile respectively.
He still managed to finish fourth in the Premier League golden boot race with 16 goals behind Erling Haaland (27), Igor Thiago (22) and Semenyo (17) respectively.
On top of that, his 26 successful dribbles ranked him among the top 10.2 percentile of Premier League strikers, with his 16 possessions won in the final third putting him in the leading 12.2 per cent respectively.
Rogers isn’t confused and you shouldn’t be either: Watkins is still an elite Premier League centre-forward.
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