Ollie Watkins spoke of his relief at getting off the mark in the Premier League as his maiden goal of the season secured a 1-0 victory at Chelsea.
Watkins bagged a hat-trick in the club’s Europa Conference League play-off first leg against Hibernian, but had remained goalless in the league until Sunday’s success at Stamford Bridge.
The Villa striker fired home a low 73rd-minute winner off the inside of the far post having seen his initial effort blocked by Levi Colwill after racing clean through.
Watkins celebrated the strike with his team-mates and travelling supporters, before the Villans closed out the encounter to record back-to-back Premier League wins.
“The first one is always hard to get,” Watkins told VillaTV, after opening his account in the league.
“I’m delighted to get off the mark now.
“It’s a bit of a relief, really, because the more the games go by, there’s a lot of talk and pressure.
“But I just try and block that out and I back myself in front of goal no matter what anyone says.
“I’m looking forward to the games coming up now and plenty more goals for the season.”
Following a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge last season, in which Watkins also bagged, it was the first time Villa have recorded consecutive Premier League wins over Chelsea for 30 years and the first time away in west London in the league since the early 1930s.
Both Emi Martínez and opposite number Robert Sanchez were called upon to save crucial saves.
Although, one of the game’s key moments came in the 58th minute as Malo Gusto was dismissed following a VAR review for an over-the-ball challenge on Lucas Digne.
Victory ensured Villa have now secured 12 points from their opening six matches of the campaign, but Watkins feels there’s room for improvement.
“I didn’t think it was our best performance, to be honest,” he added.
“It was a tough game, we didn’t pass it around like we normally do, but at the end of the day we’ve come away with three points against a Chelsea side who have got a lot of good players. It’s a tough place to come.
“Some games are like that, you can play really well and not win and play not so well and come away with the three points.
“So, we’ll take that, it’s a good start to the season for us.”
