Watkins Stars as Aston Villa Crush Newcastle in European Chase

Ollie Watkins delivered a standout performance to guide Aston Villa to a dominant 4-1 win over Newcastle, reigniting their push for European qualification.

The forward, returning to the starting XI for the first time in four matches, wasted no time making his mark by scoring within 33 seconds with a deflected effort. Moments later, he rattled the crossbar, signaling his intent early.

Watkins tormented the Newcastle defence throughout, particularly troubling Fabian Schar, who was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after dragging down the striker during a promising break.

Though Schar later headed in a controversial equaliser for the visitors, Villa remained in control. Watkins came close again, striking the post, and his persistence paid off just after the hour mark. He slid a precise pass into the path of overlapping left-back Ian Maatsen, who finished confidently to restore Villa’s lead.

The win marked Villa’s fifth consecutive Premier League victory, lifting them to sixth, just two points behind third-placed Newcastle, whose six-game winning streak came to a halt. Newcastle were again without head coach Eddie Howe, sidelined with pneumonia.

Villa added gloss to the scoreline late on as substitutes Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana sealed the result. Ramsey’s low cross was turned into his own net by Dan Burn, before Onana powered home a fourth.

Watkins’ goal brought his Premier League tally for Villa to 74, equalling Gabriel Agbonlahor’s club record. Since last season, only Mohamed Salah has more games with both a goal and an assist than Watkins.

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins speaking to Sky Sports:

“Champions League, we’ve put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position. I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I’m not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn’t playing.

“I let him (Emery) know that. He’s the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I’m not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.

“It’s something I haven’t experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League. Me and a few others are disappointed we didn’t start the game but like I said, it’s the manager’s decision.

“We did end up beating them but obviously not across both legs. The team played really well but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer. I wanted to be starting in the important games because I’ve played a big part to get to where we are today.”