Ollie Watkins has opened up about how much he loves playing against a ‘disjointed’ Liverpool defence after smashing home an emphatic brace against Arne Slot’s Reds in a 4-2 win on Friday night.
Liverpool fans would have been hoping that their inconsistent team could pick up a crucial Premier League win on their travels to Villa Park on Friday night, as their Champions League status next season remained on the line.
Unfortunately, in a season that has had many dire moments, the performance during the 4-2 defeat on the road in the West Midlands was another depressing low to stomach, as Unai Emery’s men clinched their own spot in Europe’s elite competition by hammering Arne Slot’s out-of-sorts visitors.
The defensive performance was shambolic throughout, with Liverpool now giving up 52 goals in the Premier League this season, which is the most they have ever given up across a 38-game campaign in the top-flight.
Watkins would love the charitable nature of the Reds’ defence, as he bagged a blistering brace to help his team to a big win against the Merseyside giants.
The former Brentford striker simply loves playing against Liverpool, when looking over his goal-laden career numbers, as he rubbed even more salt into the ever-gaping Reds’ wound post-match when discussing how much joy he got from playing against such a shoddy backline.
Watkins very rarely needs a second bite of the cherry to power home a Premier League goal, so when Dominik Szoboszlai slipped up in an uncharacteristic lapse of judgement after Virgil Van Dijk had made it 1-1, the 30-year-old knew exactly what to do, as he confidently beat a shaky Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Picking up his second of the night shortly after, the Premier League veteran now has a weighty 106 goals for the Villans from 276 clashes.
When speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Watkins opened up as to why he loves playing against the reigning top-flight champions, with a “lot of space” for him to run into.
🗣️ "They're disjointed at the back and there's a lot of space for me to run into"
OIlie Watkins loves scoring against Liverpool 😅 pic.twitter.com/Ez7PTtcx2x
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2026
He said, after the dust had settled on his team’s 4-2 win: “Liverpool play a high line and don’t play offside so they’re disjointed at the back and feel like there’s a lot of space for me to run into.
“No disrespect to them, the centre-backs are world class but I spot space and opportunities. I like to run in behind.
“Just before the goal, I was disappointed because I went offside, they play such a high line. I shouldn’t be offside in that position but to grab that goal a minute later, me and Morgan [Rogers] have a great connection.”
He does possess a great working relationship with Rogers, with Liverpool wishing they had such synergy in the attacking positions themselves, with injuries constantly troubling the Reds up top this season.
Amazingly, scoring this brace against Slot’s men means Watkins now has eight career goals next to his name for the Villans against the Reds, with a hat-trick previously falling into his back pocket when the Merseyside giants were humiliated 7-2 at Villa Park in 2020.
Watkins’ goal/assist record vs Liverpool:
Stat Watkins
Games played 12
Goals scored 8
Assists 3
Yet, despite such a glowing track record in front of goal, that was only Watkins’ second ever win against Liverpool donning Villa claret and blue.
While the experienced top-flight attacker will want to bask in the glory of this win for some time, Slot and Co. will be wanting to immediately brush this harrowing defeat to one side.
Only one game of the Premier League season is left now, and it’s a must-win tie against Brentford. To win, the Liverpool defence must be more switched on after leaking a depressing four goals at Villa Park.