Ollie Watkins among hottest in Europe as Aston Villa star achieves a new Premier League first
Ollie Watkins is heading to the World Cup with England in scintillating form after signing off for Aston Villa with two more goals against Manchester City.
The striker scored twice in the second half of Sunday's match at the Etihad Stadium after Antoine Semenyo had opened the scoring for City in the opening 23 minutes.
Watkins ends the 2025-26 campaign with 16 Premier League goals in 37 matches - and 21 goals in all competitions.
That includes six goals in five games to conclude the campaign, having more than justified his spot in England's World Cup squad.
It has been a campaign to remember for Watkins and indeed Europa League winners Villa, with the 30-year-old doing something this season nobody else had previously managed.
Ollie Watkins loves the big fixtures
Unai Emery continues to get the absolute most out of Watkins, who put a slow start to the campaign behind him to write his name in Villa folklore.
Watkins averaged 0.4 goals per game in the Premier League this season - nearly a goal every other game - and also chipped in with three assists.
| Ollie Watkins | 2025-26 Premier League |
| Games (starts) | 37 (33) |
| Mins | 2,852 |
| Goals/assists | 16/3 |
| Headed goals | 4 |
| Right-foot goals | 9 |
| Left-foot goals | 3 |
The 16 goals he scored in the competition came from an expected goals (xG) value of 15.04, meaning he slightly overperformed in that regard.
Watkins also missed 19 big chances, but every great striker will tell you it is more of a concern when you are not getting those chances.
And in scoring a brace against City, Watkins has become the first player to score a double against each of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea in the same campaign.
Watkins' 11 goals since the start of April is only bettered by England colleague Harry Kane, who has bagged 13 for Bayern Munich.
Aston Villa managed a 2026 first vs Man City
Villa's players were understandably still on a massive high after their midweek Europa League triumph.
That explains why Emery made mass changes to Villa's starting line-up, as did opposite number Pep Guardiola in his final game in charge of City.
Emery kept his side motivated in the Premier League over the final week or so, with wins over Liverpool and City either side of the Freiburg game testament to that.
This marks the first time the Villans have won back-to-back games in the competition this calendar year.
The dust will now settle on the 2025-26 campaign, and it is fair to say it has been one for the ages for every Villa supporter.