Dean Smith praised his Aston Villa players for the way they bounced back from midweek disappointment against Arsenal on Saturday.
The head coach saw his side fly out of the traps and score after just 73 seconds – a lead they held until the final whistle.
After losing 3-1 to West Ham at Villa Park three days prior, Smith was delighted with the response against the Gunners.
He said: “As disappointed as I was on Wednesday is as happy as I am today – it’s polar opposites.
“On Wednesday, we felt like a good team without putting in the hard yards. I reminded them today of what it takes to be a good team and why we’d got ten wins before today.
“We have the quality to score goals in abundance and we showed that today. I was most pleased with the desire to see the game out at 1-0. I’m really pleased for all of them.”
Ollie Watkins bagged his tenth Premier League goal of the campaign, becoming the first Villan to score 10+ goals in a season since Gabriel Agbonlahor in 2009/10.
The forward’s display was one of many that helped Villa to victory, with Smith also keen to praise his defence for keeping Arsenal at bay.
He said: “He [Watkins] doesn’t give centre halves a moment’s peace. Anyone who has played against him this season will tell you that.
“I thought we deserved the win. They had the lion’s share of possession and put some good balls into the box, and I felt we got good blocks and tackles in when we needed to.
“Emi’s made the save from the free-kick and with his feet in the second half, but their ‘keeper was the overworked ‘keeper in terms of the chances.
“I thought we created the big chances today.”