Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins proved too scorching to deal with for the most effective protection within the Premier League as he scored two targets and arrange one other in a 3-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Watkins’ newest sensible efficiency got here in entrance of England coach Gareth Southgate, who didn’t name up the striker for the nationwide crew’s most up-to-date matches final month.
Watkins is within the type of his life, nonetheless, and took his tally to 11 targets in his final 12 league video games by swiveling on the sting of the six-yard field and smashing dwelling a end to make it 2-0 within the sixty fourth minute. He added a 3rd within the 83rd from a close-range shot that took a slight deflection.
He additionally had a purpose disallowed for a slim offside when the rating was 1-0, whereas within the first half he struck the put up inside the primary minute and arrange Jacob Ramsey for the Eleventh-minute opener with an clever nod-down from a looping cross from the correct.
Watkins has 14 targets this season, 12 of them coming for the reason that World Cup.
The defeat was a blow to third-place Newcastle’s probabilities of Champions League qualification, with Villa now probably having an opportunity of a top-four end.
Transformed underneath Unai Emery, Villa is in sixth place after seven wins in its final eight video games and now six factors behind Newcastle having performed one recreation extra.
Newcastle has solely conceded 24 targets in 30 league video games this season, the fewest of any crew within the division.
