Aston Villa player ratings v Newcastle – 9/10 Watkins proves point to Emery
Aston Villa were emphatic on Saturday as they blew away Newcastle United with a 4-1 hammering at Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins justified his recall from Unai Emery with an opener inside the first minute, equalling Gabby Agbonlahor’s all-time Premier League goals record in claret and blue, before Fabian Schar’s header snuck a way past Emi Martinez.
Ian Maatsen put Villa back in front, before Dan Burn’s own goal and Amadou Onana‘s terrific strike in quick succession put major daylight between Emery’s men and their Champions League qualification rivals.
Villa News rates the performances of each of the players out of 10.
Aston Villa player ratings v Newcastle
Emi Martinez – 5
Matty Cash – 6
Ezri Konsa – 6
Tyrone Mings – 6
Ian Maatsen – 9
Boubacar Kamara (off for Ross Barkley 82′) – 7
Youri Tielemans – 9
Morgan Rogers (off for Donyell Malen 82′) – 7
Marco Asensio (off for Jacob Ramsey 72′) – 7
John McGinn (off for Amadou Onana 72′) – 8
Ollie Watkins (off for Marcus Rashford 82′) – 9
Substitutes
Amadou Onana (on for John McGinn 72′) – 8
Jacob Ramsey (on for Marco Asensio 72′) – 8
Ross Barkley (on for Boubacar Kamara 82′) – N/A
Donyell Malen (on for Morgan Rogers 82′) – N/A
Marcus Rashford (on for Ollie Watkins 82′) – N/A
Emery’s Villans are all-in for the Champions League
Aston Villa have been accused throughout this season of enduring European “hangovers” heading into subsequent Premier League weekends.
But that could not have been further from the case against Newcastle, blowing the Magpies away at Villa Park – the first-half performance was there but had little final-third success to show for it, but the second half was a tidal wave.
Emery once again excelled with his substitutions – Jacob Ramsey and Onana in particular contributing heavily with an instant impact to seal the deal in B6.
| POS | Premier League table 2024-25 | PLD | PTS | GD |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 33 | 59 | +18 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 33 | 58 | +22 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 32 | 57 | +13 |
| 6 | ASTON VILLA | 33 | 57 | +6 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 32 | 54 | +17 |
Villa rise to sixth following a sumptuous springtime victory, and have now carved themselves a massive chance of breaking into the Champions League qualification places.
The race is ever so tight, and one of the weekend’s other successful sides – Manchester City – next host the Villans at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night (22 April). There is no reason Emery‘s outfit cannot grab all three points from Pep Guardiola’s arena.