🦁 Watkins roars for Aston Villa ahead of an England summer

Aston Villa’s sensational 2025/26 campaign finishes on the road against Manchester City at the Etihad on a day where Pep Guardiola bids farewell.

But so far, Unai Emery’s side are playing the role of party crasher after taking the lead on the day.

Advertisement

An opener in the 23rd minute from Antoine Semenyo set City off and running in front of home support, before an in-form Ollie Watkins cancelled out the Ghanaian’s strike.

Watkins would go on to complete his brace in the 63rd minute with a lovely finish to push Villa into the lead, cementing his place as one of Europe’s best in recent seasons.

It’s been a sublime season for the England striker, who will be on the plane with Thomas Tuchel’s squad heading stateside next month.

With his brace today, Watkins has bagged 12 goals in his last 13 appearances for Villa, joining just Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappé as one of only four players to score 15+ goals in each of the last four seasons in Europe’s Top 5 leagues (per StatMuse).

Should anything happen to Kane this summer, England would no doubt remain in good hands.