Ollie Watkins explained his animated celebration against his former club Brentford as his goal inspired a comeback win for Aston Villa.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Brentford took the lead through Keane Lewis-Potter’s strike at the stroke of half-time but Alex Moreno brought Aston Villa back into the game in the second-half before Ollie Watkins netted an 85th-minute winner.

Right after scoring the goal at the Gtech Community Stadium, the English striker pointed his finger towards a Brentford fan and did an animated celebration which evoked hostile reaction from the home fans towards the player for the remainder of the game.

WHAT OLLIE WATKINS SAID

After the match, Watkins explained his action as he told reporters, “It was a feisty game spurred from my celebration but that’s not down to a lack of respect for the fans. I’ve not got a bad word to say about them. There was one person abusing me all game. The celebration wasn’t to anyone else but him. Football is football and you can have a bit of banter but not when it’s personal.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The England international is enjoying a fine run of form this season having scored nine times in 17 Premier League appearances. He has a hat-trick to his name in the ongoing campaign which has also seen him score five goals in his last six league matches.

WHAT NEXT FOR ASTON VILLA?

The win on Sunday helped Unai Emery’s side to extend their lead over reigning champions Manchester City to four points. They are currently tied on 38 points with second-placed Liverpool and find themselves third on the league table.

They will next face rock-bottom side Sheffield United in the Premier League on Friday.