Villa boost hopes of Champions League return
Aston Villa 4 - 1 Newcastle United
Aston Villa delivered a scintillating display at Villa Park to sweep aside Newcastle United and underline their intent in the race for a top-five finish and Champions League football.
Ollie Watkins gave Villa the perfect start, drawing level with Gabriel Agbonlahor as the club’s joint-highest Premier League goalscorer. His strike after just 33 seconds took a cruel deflection off Fabian Schär and left Nick Pope stranded.
Newcastle responded in the 18th minute, with Schär making amends by heading home Harvey Barnes’ deep, curling cross. The ball crept through the legs of Emiliano Martínez to restore parity.
But Villa refused to relent. Just after the hour mark, Watkins turned provider, sliding in Ian Maatsen who showed composure beyond his years to lift the ball delicately over the keeper and restore the lead.
The hosts found another gear. Jacob Ramsey’s low ball across the box ricocheted in off Dan Burn for the third, and within minutes it was four, substitute Amadou Onana thundering a spectacular effort into the top corner from the edge of the area.
The result moves Villa up to sixth, level on points with fifth-placed Nottingham Forest. Newcastle, still third, now sit only two points above Villa with five matches left to play.
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Villa Park bouncing once again
youtube.com/shorts/1XMD2... Villa v Newcastle clip from the crowd
— Super News Affiliate (@sup3rnew5affiliate.bsky.social) 20 April 2025 at 10:26
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There’s a buoyant atmosphere around the club these days. Unai Emery’s men have now won 10 of their last 11 matches across all competitions, hitting form at the perfect time to rekindle their hopes of a return to European football’s top table.
Watkins was the standout in the first half, twice denied by the frame of the goal. He rattled the underside of the crossbar at 1–0 and later glanced a header against the post with the score level.
After the break, Villa looked the more dangerous side. John McGinn was thwarted by Pope when through one-on-one, but the breakthrough wasn’t far away.
Three goals in 11 second-half minutes from Maatsen, Burn (albeit inadvertently), and Onana sealed the points. Ramsey almost added a fifth, his low shot rebounding off the inside of the post.
With matches against Manchester City and Bournemouth still to come, Villa’s run-in is far from easy. But having put an in-form Newcastle side to the sword (a team who had won six on the trot and netted 12 in their previous three ) few would back against Emery guiding Villa to the Champions League for the second year running.
