Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic: Unai Emery’s side narrowly qualify for Champions League knockouts thanks to Morgan Rogers’ hat-trick… as Ollie Watkins nets hours after Arsenal launch bid to sign him

Ollie Watkins will have had quieter days than this one. A bid for his services made by Arsenal and rejected by his club Aston Villa may have just put him off his warm-up a little.

Then came the football. A crazy game of European back and forth ultimately settled by his second half goal but also featuring more missed chances than he would have wished and a penalty spooned over the bar in to the Holte End after his standing foot gave way at the end of his run up.

So a day when Watkins became a back page story and an internet meme all at the same time. At the end of it all, the 29-year-old remained a Villa player and he and his team were established as a top eight Champions League club. No play-off will be required for Unai Emery and his side and despite the frantic nature of this win, that – and the £9m that comes with it – is very much deserved.

In terms of the action, Villa had to win the game twice. They were two up inside five minutes thanks to another English talent, Morgan Rodgers. Celtic looked done for by the time some people had taken their seats.

Back the Scottish champions came, though. Two goals in three minutes from Adam Idah towards the end of the half squared everything up and sent Villa tumbling down the table like rocks into an abyss.

Watkins – who had missed a sitter at 2-0 – scored what turned out to be the winner around about the hour mark but then came his penalty. He won it a little controversially and then missed it quite spectacularly.

‘What the hell was that?’ he was seen to ask himself. Whether he was talking about the penalty or the most recent 12 hours of his life, it was hard to tell.

In added time, meanwhile, Rodgers scored his own third and his team’s fourth. A European hat-trick and somehow his managed not to be the story of the night.

Celtic’s first away game in Europe this season had seen them lose 7-1 at Borussia Dortmund. The Scottish champions’ recovery from that point on has been quite something but they threatened to be overwhelmed once again by Villa’s crackerjack start.

No player had ever scored twice in the first five minutes of a Champions League game so young Rogers now has himself a modern-day record. They were entirely different goals in creation and execution but both similar in that they threatened to lift the roof off this old place.

Villa’s own European campaign had gone well on the whole. This match was about finishing the job off and grabbing a place in the last 16 and the £9.2million that comes with it.

Emery’s team had quite the hunger, then, and it showed from the start as Lucas Digne timed a nice run down the left in the third minute. Cutting back to feed Youri Tielemans, the pace of the move quickened perfectly as the Belgian played Jacob Ramsey to the byline and his cut-back was rammed in emphatically by Rogers from six yards.

It was a lovely goal and celebrated just as vigorously. Celtic’s fans away on the far side didn’t think to interrupt their singing but their endurance was tested two minutes later when a poor clearance by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was intercepted well by Ezri Konsa.

When the ball reached Rogers 20 yards or so from goal, he was encouraged to shoot by the fact defender Liam Scales stood off him. And when he did let fly, the ball struck Scales on the foot and looped over Schmeichel into the top corner.

Villa were in control almost before anybody had really settled down and could effectively have sealed the game before Celtic’s unlikely comeback before the end of the half.

There were a couple of flashes at goal from Celtic as Nicolas Kuhn and Reo Hatate came close but had Watkins been more clinical just after the half-hour, the game would have been over.

Maybe he had too much time when the ball was squared to him nine yards from goal. Maybe he had something else on his mind. Whatever the case, his first touch was not great and his second — a chip over Schmeichel when he needed power — was not hard enough and allowed Alistair Johnson to clear from the line.

Still Villa seemed to be in control. Even when Matty Cash went off injured there seemed no course for alarm.

But then a player who had not scored since November appeared to score a lightening-quick double of his own and it was game on at Villa Park.

Idah’s first finish in the 36th minute was excellent, lifting his leg high to volley in a deflected Greg Taylor cross at the Holte End after a superb Hatate pass had found the Celtic left back in space.

Then, two minutes later, Idah was able to side-foot easily in to the roof off the net after Hatate had been involved again as Celtic this time worked a move down the other side.

In an instant, Villa dropped from fifth in the table down in to the middle section that would send them into a play-off round instead of going straight through to the last 16.

On the touchline Emery asked his players for calm and they almost replied in perfect fashion, only for Konsa to shoot narrowly wide of Schmeichel’s left-hand post with half-time almost upon us.

Into the second half and Villa had all the possession and territory they could have wished for. Celtic barely made it into the Villa half for the first 15 minutes but the home team had little of the assured confidence of the opening period.

Emery was starting to look a little frazzled on the touchline right up until the moment his team finally scored.

Celtic had finally managed to venture forwards only for the move to break down when Rogers stole possession. From that point on the break was swift as Rogers fed John McGinn who moved the ball on to the galloping Ramsey. The Villa midfielder could have run on to shoot but Watkins was better placed to his left and when the square ball arrived, he swept it in first-time with his right foot.

Watched by England coach Thomas Tuchel, Watkins almost scored again a minute or so later only for Schmeichel to save. Then, in the 63rd minute, he fell under a challenge from Auston Trusty to win a penalty.

It was a tight call from French referee Clement Turpin but VAR backed him up. Watkins took the kick himself and what happened next will live on blooper reels forever more. Losing his footing, he played the ball against his left foot with his right and in to orbit it went.

‘What the hell was that?’ Watkins seemed to say to himself. It was a fair question and the upshot was that Celtic were still in the game.

The game inevitably became more open as Celtic started to chase it.

Watkins was denied by Schmeichel’s right foot soon after the penalty horror. In truth, he probably should have scored. He was also to hit the side netting when well placed with 14 minutes left.

In between those chances, Celtic threatened twice. First Hatate fizzed a shot inches wide from 25 yards and then Idah broke to test Emiliano Martinez at his near post when really he should have crossed to a breaking team mate on his left.

Rodgers’ hat-trick came at the death, shooting in to an empty goal after Schmeichel had gone to ground.