Key talking points as Villa win thriller at Kenilworth Road

Lucas Digne's late goal meant Luton's brilliant comeback against Aston Villa went unrewarded.

Ollie Watkins' first-half double looked to have sealed a routine away win for the Villans.

But Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris struck after the break to set up a thrilling finale which saw Digne pop up with a decisive late winner against the run of play.

Read on for our key talking points.

Golden boy

Watkins could be the man to pip Erling Haaland to the Golden Boot.

The England striker took himself to 16 top-flight goals for the season with a clinical double — one fewer than the Norwegian.

But while his form should guarantee him a spot on the plane to the European Championship, Harry Kane is an immovable object as the focal point of Gareth Southgate's attack.

Watkins, 28, will likely have to rely on an injury to the Bayern Munich superstar if he is to be unleashed from the off this summer.

After his brace, he told the BBC: "If I said I wasn't thinking about the Euros I would be lying to you.

"I want to score as many goals as possible. I feel like I am doing that. I am confident and I am playing my best football.

"I have played Premier League football for a number of years now. I missed out on the last Euros squad because it was my first season in the Premier League.

"Now I have been in the Premier League for a number of years. I am scoring, I am established, so it is down to the manager if he wants to pick me."

Going down swinging

Luton's second-half fightback will have been watched nervously in Liverpool, Nottingham and London.

The Hatters do not know when they are beaten and with Sheffield United and Burnley adrift, look the most likely team to climb out of the bottom three.

Nottingham Forest, Everton, Brentford and Crystal Palace are all struggling for form — Luton can catch them if their luck changes.

Tension on the cards

Thomas Kaminski may be scratching a few names off his Christmas card list this evening.

The Hatters stopper made a number of good saves but, much like the actors at the infamous Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, he was let down by his colleagues.

Watkins was allowed far too much space to nod home his opener from a corner then benefitted from a sleeping backline not reacting to a quick free-kick to race clear for his second.

Luton will hope Amari'i Bell's injury is not serious as they will need all their best defenders fit to give Kaminski more protection in vital upcoming clashes with Palace and Bournemouth.

All to play four

With Tottenham coming from behind to beat Palace, Villa needed victory here and their players delivered.

The result maintains a five-point gap to Spurs in fifth as the Villans chase a Champions League berth.

Unai Emery will be glad at the nature of the first-half performance — even if the second left much to be desired — as he turns his attention to a Europa League clash with Ajax on Thursday.

The Villans chief is a master in European competition and will fancy his chances of leaving Amsterdam on a high.