Unai Emery saluted Ollie Watkins after he scored a superb 90th-minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
Watkins was facing backwards when he nodded in substitute Moussa Diaby’s cross as Villa twice came from behind to rescue a share of the spoils.
Villa boss Emery said: “He’s strong. When he’s feeling good physically he can play matches in a row like we are playing.
“It’s a very good point. I am very happy with the performance.
“We have to build a team and I am trying to give everyone chances.
“They have to feel important and playing with personality and get stronger, not only the first 11 but the squad.”
Bournemouth took the lead in the 10th minute through a neat finish from Antoine Semenyo after Diego Carlos was too casual playing out from the back and passed the ball straight to Ryan Christie.
Villa drew level in the 20th minute as Leon Bailey picked up possession on the right wing before cutting in on his left foot and curling into the far corner.
Solanke restored Bournemouth’s advantage seven minutes into the second half as he fired Bournemouth back in front with his seventh goal of the season after turning away from Pau Torres and rifling home.
Emi Martinez then denied Solanke from point blank range before Villa substitute Jhon Duran hit the post with a deflected shot.
But just as Bournemouth looked to be holding out for the win, up stepped the in-form Watkins to bag his 13th goal of the season.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola saluted top-scorer Solanke, but was frustrated his side could not hold out for a third straight Premier League win.
Iraola said: “It is a hard one to take because before for the game you would take a point against Villa, but considering how the team played and the chances we had we cannot be happy.
“In the end we could not score the third goal even though we had clear chances and we also have to congratulate their goalkeeper who made two or three spectacular saves.
“After the start of the season we needed to improve and we’ve been doing that.
“We are understanding each other better and the players are physically in a good place. It is obvious we are playing better than we were.
“They are winning duels against tough opposition, but we have to continue because this is a good level from us and it’s only enough for one point.
“At this moment in time it is a matter of improving collectively. Today Dom scored one very good goal with good movement from a number nine and he had two very close chances, but their goalkeeper was amazing.
“He read the situations very well and he has had three or four very clear chances, which is a good sign for the team for him personally. I hope he continues at this level.”
Chelsea edge out Man City to claim fifth straight WSL title with thumping win at Old Trafford
Mayra Ramirez turned in a stellar performance to propel Chelsea to the WSL title in Emma Hayes' final match in charge as the Blues thrashed Manchester United 6-0.
Earlier in May, Hayes – who is ending a 12-year stint in charge of the Blues to become the United States coach – had all but given up on claiming a fifth straight WSL crown.
Yet Chelsea's 8-0 victory over Bristol City two weeks ago, combined with Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal, opened the door, and after beating Tottenham in midweek, the Blues knew a win, while maintaining their positive goal difference, would be enough.
And they made sure there was no room for error with an incredible first-half display inspired by Ramirez, who scored twice and set up goals for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Sjoeke Nusken at Old Trafford.
Melanie Leupolz got in on the act early in the second half as Chelsea's celebrations began in earnest, with Fran Kirby netting late on to complete the rout on her farewell appearance.
Ultimately, City – likely deflated by the news coming from Old Trafford – held up their end of the bargain, but shorn of top goalscorer Khadija Shaw, Gareth Taylor's team could only beat Aston Villa 2-1.
City were constantly chasing their title rivals, with Ramirez and Rytting Kaneryd putting Chelsea 2-0 up at United inside eight minutes.
Mary Fowler nudged City ahead at Villa Park, though when Taylor's team went in at the interval, they will have seen additional goals from record signing Ramirez and Nusken had all but sewn up the title for Chelsea already.
Leupolz has scored her first WSL goal in over two years to add further gloss for Chelsea when they came back out from the restart in Manchester, and City were then hit by a further blow when Rachel Daly equalised for Villa.
Lauren Hemp, who had assisted Fowler's opener, restored City's lead, though it was never going to be enough, with Kirby's farewell goal ensuring Chelsea finished with a goal difference of 53 compared to their rivals' 46.
Chelsea are now unbeaten across their last nine WSL games that have come on the final day of the season, while the Blues are now nine WSL matches without loss against United, having won eight of those fixtures.
Hoffenheim 4-2 Bayern Munich: Tuchel bows out on defeat thanks to Kramaric hat-trick
Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel's final game.
Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.
Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.
Bayern's injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim's threat in the second half.
Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in third place with 72 points.
Bayer Leverkusen finished in top spot on 90 points. VfB Stuttgart finished runners-up on 73 with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach, while Hoffenheim finished seventh, in the Europa Conference League place.
Data Debrief:
Thomas Muller made his 473rd Bundesliga appearance for Bayern on Saturday, drawing level with Sepp Maier as the club's record appearance maker in the competition.
Bayern failed to have a single shot on target in the second half, while Kramaric ran riot to subject Bayern to their worst league finish since 2011.
Guirassy matches Kiessling, Muller record with another opener
Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy matched a Bundesliga record previously shared by Stefan Kiessling, Ailton and Gert Muller with his opener against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Guirassy put high-flying Stuttgart ahead in the 23rd minute on Saturday, in their final game of the season.
That goal marked the 12th time the striker has scored the opener in a Bundesliga match this season, which equalled the record set by the great Muller in 1969-70, then matched by Ailton in 2003-04 and Kiessling in 2012-13.
It also brought up Guirassy's 27th goal of a stellar campaign.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
