Release at Villa Park: Watkins breaks his drought as Buendía ignites a comeback Villa craved

Aston Villa finally have a first Premier League win to point to, and it arrived with the kind of raw catharsis that can change a mood. After conceding inside three minutes to Fulham, Unai Emery’s side gathered themselves, levelled through the overdue goal Ollie Watkins had been chasing, and surged past their visitors with two quickfire strikes just after the interval from captain John McGinn and substitute Emiliano Buendía.

It was not swashbuckling so much as stubborn and then incisive, the product of a team that shook off a flat opening and rode a wave generated by Villa Park. Buendía’s introduction at half-time proved decisive, Watkins’ confidence returned with a delicate lob, and three points—emphatically demanded by Emery—were banked at last.

From flat start to foothold

Villa were stunned early when Sasa Lukic’s corner was steered in by Raúl Jiménez after three minutes, and the first half too often mirrored recent lethargy. The telling stat: Villa did not make a single tackle before the break. Yet they stayed in the game, with the home crowd imploring a rise in tempo and Emery prowling the technical area for a spark.

The demand had been clear. After a nervy Europa League win over Bologna, Emery publicly reset the priority to the Premier League and told his players to deliver three points. Gradually, they found a rhythm—Lucas Digne stepping forward, McGinn trying to punch holes, the collective edge building for the moment to come.

Watkins’ craft ends the wait and lifts the noise

It arrived via Digne’s cultured left foot. The full-back dropped a long pass between Calvin Bassey and Joachim Andersen, Watkins darted into the space and, with Bernd Leno rushing out, calmly lifted a bouncing ball over the goalkeeper. Bassey sprinted back but ended caught in the net as the equaliser nestled home. For Watkins, it ended nine barren games and marked his first league goal since the second week of May.

The goalscorer’s release reverberated. McGinn immediately sent a clipped pass over the top for Morgan Rogers, who might have been through but for a heavy touch, and Digne forced Leno into a save with a free-kick on the cusp of half-time. The stadium, edgy earlier, now roared; the platform was set.

Buendía and McGinn seize the moment

Emery rolled the dice at the interval, replacing Harvey Elliott with Buendía, and the effect was instant. Lamare Bogarde—preferred at the base of midfield—harried Adama Traoré to steal back possession, Buendía moved play on, and McGinn drilled a left-foot finish into the bottom corner to flip the game.

Two minutes later Villa struck again. Watkins drove to the left byline and pulled back for Buendía, who had ghosted into the box and prodded home. Within six minutes of coming on, the Argentine had both an assist and a goal—his first in a Villa shirt for a year—embodying the urgency and intent Emery had demanded.

Nerves, blocks and a vital three points

The afternoon still found room for a jolt. Watkins slipped when shaping to shoot, and almost immediately Martínez miscued a pass out. King intercepted, Traoré fed Lukic, and Ezri Konsa had to hurl himself back to hook the ball off the line. It was the kind of moment that has dragged Villa down lately; this time, the door was slammed shut.

There were controversies to navigate, too. King had earlier been booked for simulation when tangling with Martínez, and a Matty Cash handball claim also went Fulham’s way initially before VAR upheld the on-field calls. None of it derailed Villa’s surge, which was built more on energy and conviction than fluency.

A platform at last

This was a win shaped by personality. It lifts Villa out of the relegation zone, caps a second victory in four days, and may serve as the spark Emery covets. His insistence on aggression and getting bodies into the box was reflected in the second-half tempo as Villa wrested control of a fraught contest.

Most of all, Watkins is back on the scoresheet. After 16 league goals last season, Villa need his cutting edge, and the manner of his finish will quieten doubts. With Feyenoord away in the Europa League and Burnley at home to follow, this felt like a turning of the page rather than a one-off.