Aston Villa produced a performance of real authority at St James’ Park as goals from Emiliano Buendía and Ollie Watkins earned a fully deserved win over Newcastle and kept their faint title ambitions alive.
Villa were fluid, inventive and confident throughout, with Morgan Rogers central to much of their best attacking play. Buendía opened the scoring with a superb curling effort from outside the box after a slick team move, setting the tone for a first half in which Newcastle struggled to cope with Villa’s movement and imagination.
Newcastle had early chances, most notably when Emiliano Martínez denied Sandro Tonali, but the hosts lacked creativity without the injured Bruno Guimarães and often looked predictable in possession. Nick Pope made several fine saves to keep Newcastle in the game, including stops from Watkins and Rogers.
The second half brought brief Newcastle pressure, but Villa remained composed. Watkins, a constant threat with his pace and movement, sealed the win with a diving header after Newcastle failed to clear a corner. The goal underlined Villa’s control and sparked jubilant celebrations among the visitors.
The victory strengthens Villa’s grip on third place and leaves them level on points with second-placed Manchester City, while Newcastle remain ninth and face a tougher path back into Champions League contention.
