Aston Villa claimed their first away victory of the season in the Premier League on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, and it’s led Unai Emery to shower one star with praise against the odds.

Aston Villa had started the season poorly under the Spanish boss by failing to score in their first four games of the Premier League season, and it took them six games to win which provided early murmurs of a poor season.

However, consecutive home wins over Fulham and Burnley got them off the mark, and Sunday’s win over Champions League-chasing Tottenham really kicked their season into gear.

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Emi Buendia will take the plaudits for his winner, as will Unai Emery for his team selection – but the Spaniard stopped to praise striker Ollie Watkins after his cameo off the bench to secure a win.

Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images

The England international has been Aston Villa’s main striker for the majority of their Premier League spell since promotion from the Championship in 2019. Watkins joined in 2020 via a £33million move from Brentford and has since been the go-to man in the...