‘Pass of the season’ has Ollie Watkins licking his lips as Aston Villa’s five-star thrashing of Sheffield United keeps Unai Emery’s side in sight of a top four finish

Unai Emery will hope the cut is clean. That the five-goal thrashing of Sheffield United will end with surgical precision the wobble in midwinter that started against the same opponents.

The Blades came within seconds of an unlikely victory at Villa Park just before Christmas. Nicolo Zaniolo scrambled a late equaliser but it would be the first of just five points from five Premier League games.

For Emery’s team, with their sights on the top four, it was a troubling loss of fluency. Had teams worked out a way to stop them? It seemed like it when their unbeaten home record tumbled against Newcastle on Tuesday.

Then, at Bramall Lane on Saturday, an exhilarating 5-0 victory, albeit against woeful opponents, with all Villa’s creative forces sparking back to life as they move into two big home games — an FA Cup replay against Chelsea on Wednesday and Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

‘Massive for us,’ said striker Ollie Watkins, who scored the second at Sheffield United and created three of the others. ‘When we focus and battle as a team, our football qualities come out. Then we get good results like that.

Douglas Luiz’s exquisite pass with the outside of his right boot releases Watkins to score

‘There was a spell when as a team we were slightly off it. Maybe not having space in transition, maybe playing a bit too slow and teams were showing us respect and making it hard for us by having bodies behind the ball. Here, there was a lot more space than we thought there would be and we punished them.’

Watkins looked every inch the modern Premier League centre forward with his perpetual motion, high-press industry and lethal eye for goal.

He is tuned into the same wavelength as Douglas Luiz, whose passes released him for the first goal, tapped in by John McGinn after Watkins’ effort had hit a post, and the second, an exquisite pass with the outside of the foot.

‘When Dougie played me those through, I was licking my lips,’ said the England international. ‘I was unlucky with the first one, it just hit the post when it could have gone in, but I kept going and he found me again with the second one, definitely the pass of the season.’

Blades boss Chris Wilder admits they need to ‘change that round’ while 10 points from safety

Sheffield United are sliding into the realms of the impossible. They are 10 points from safety, leaking goals and are at in-form relegation rivals Luton Town on Saturday. ‘There are certain teams at the moment, Luton included, who deserve every plaudit they’re getting,’ said Blades boss Chris Wilder. ‘We’ll be the polar opposite, so we need to change that round.

‘It won’t be the biggest shock in world football if we go there and get a result. We’ve got to believe that we’re good enough, mentally and physically, and tactically and technically for a strong week otherwise it’s no good getting on the bus.’