rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
The England international had only previously scored once in the top-flight this season
Unai Emery hailed striker Ollie Watkins after the England international netted twice as Aston Villa came from behind to secure victory over Brighton in a seven-goal thriller.
Watkins scored both goals before half time after Emery’s side had fallen behind to a Jan Paul van Hecke header and Pau Torres own goal.
Amadou Onana completed the comeback on the hour mark before substitute Donyell Malen gave Villa breathing space with 12 minutes remaining.
Van Hecke pulled one back five minutes later to make it an exciting finish at the Amex Stadium but the visitors held on to make it six successive wins in all competitions and move up to third in the Premier League.
Emery, who became the manager with the most Premier League wins for Villa, was full of praise for Watkins, who had previously scored just once in the league all season.
“He [Watkins] scored in different ways. In the box and as well one long ball behind the defence. It was a great finish,” Emery said.
“With Ollie, he gives me confidence when he’s working. Not scoring, his confidence gets low, but the goals were coming.”
The Villa boss also hailed the efforts of his players, calling their reaction after going behind “fantastic”.
Emery added: “Today we reacted like the season. We started poor in August. Today we didn’t start good. The first goal shouldn’t have been a corner. We are adding experiences and today one more.
“The players reacted and competed fantastic. We needed some good luck at moments at 2-0 down. We then felt better on the field. In the dressing room we spoke about focusing on the game plan. After we reacted, the players followed it and they competed.”
Next up for Villa is the visit of league leaders Arsenal on Saturday.
