Watkins Score Hat-trick As Aston Villa Thrash Hibernian 5-0
Ollie Watkins’ devastating hat-trick helped ruthless Aston Villa mark their return to European football with a first-leg Europa Conference League play-off demolition of Hibernian.
Hibs hero John McGinn’s Easter Road homecoming dominated much of the pre-match build-up, but England striker Watkins will rightly grab the headlines after a phenomenal display at a sell-out Easter Road.
Following a bright start, the Scottish Premiership side could not deal with their clinical Premier League visitors upping the ante as Watkins glanced in a sublime header before nodding in a second at the back post.
Leon Bailey then powered in a close-range header of his own to put Villa – regarded as tournament favourites by many – in complete control at the break in their first European game in 13 years.
Watkins thought the offside flag had denied him a treble just after the interval, but the VAR reviewed his first-time finish past David Marshall, with Douglas Luiz’s penalty sealing a record-equalling European win for Unai Emery’s side.
Next Thursday’s second leg at Villa Park will be about damage limitation for Hibs and Lee Johnson, who watched his side crumble in his 500th game as a manager after his brave attacking line-up briefly rattled the visitors early on.
In the opposite dugout, four-time Europa League winner Emery took no chances with his XI, including big-money summer signings Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby starting.
But with a boisterous home crowd on top of them, Villa had to weather a short storm from Hibs, which included a weak Martin Boyle volley and an equally tame penalty shout.
But after Watkins planted Lucas Digne’s inch-perfect ball into the far corner, it was about how many Villa wanted.
They got five, but it could have been nearly double had Marshall not denied Bailey with a fine stop before Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa both had headers narrowly miss the target.
