Jackson has softened Watkins exit blow
- Published
Nicolas Jackson celebrated his first-half double by making a cutting motion, which proved fitting on a night Aston Villa found their clinical edge.
A first win at Villa Park this season, three first-half goals and six in total, and a commanding Champions League victory - all in the biggest European win in their history.
Questions had been building after Villa picked up just one point from their opening three Premier League home games this season, even if Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brentford ensured they avoided a third-straight home league defeat under Unai Emery for the first time since February 2024.
They found a willing opponent in Fenerbahce, who were scattered with former Premier League players, including Ederson, Nathan Ake, Romelu Lukaku and Nelson Semedo.
Villa had last scored so many in a 6-1 win over Brighton three years ago, while they had put five goals past Hibernian in the Conference League in 2023.
That result provided another springboard and extended the side's recent form to just one defeat in seven games. However, Emery's rebuild will still take time.
Before the international break, he compared the opening five weeks of the season to pre-season, with 10 new players to adapt following a chaotic summer of change.
Record £65m signing Jackson came in to replace Ollie Watkins after his £50m switch to Al-Hilal. He joined having helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga last season on loan from Chelsea, and on moving to Villa Park he was reunited with Emery.
The pair had worked together at Villarreal, with Emery giving him his debut, and the 25-year-old has quickly repaid the faith on their reunion.
The only thing missing for Jackson was a potential hat-trick, with Ross Barkley - the pre-arranged penalty taker - scoring from the spot.
"I wanted to take it but the most important thing is that we won," Jackson told TNT Sports. "Hopefully next time I will get the hat-trick."
Jackson's four goals in three games and five goals in total this season have helped the club quickly move on from their record Premier League scorer Watkins.
Emery added: "Jackson is doing a fantastic job. He is scoring, working defensively and helping the team - this is very important. Maybe he can shoot [from the spot] in the future, as well."
The new-look forward line will now be eager for Saturday's trip to Newcastle, especially as Matthias Jaissle's side shipped four against Coventry on Monday to leave them with the joint-worst defensive record in the Premier League.
