Villa cruise past Newcastle to boost Champions League hopes | OneFootball

Aston Villa produced a second-half masterclass to thump Newcastle 4-1 at Villa Park, keeping their Champions League hopes well and truly alive.

Ollie Watkins broke the deadlock inside just 33 seconds, pouncing on some sleepy defending to fire Villa in front. The England striker was on fire all night, hitting the woodwork twice and tormenting Newcastle’s backline from the first whistle.

Despite all that early pressure, the visitors hit back through Fabian Schar, who nodded in against the run of play midway through the first half.

The game remained wide open heading into the second half, but Villa took control after the break. Ian Maatsen made it 2-1 just after the hour mark with a cool finish following some slick build-up play.

That goal sparked a collapse from the Magpies, and things went from bad to worse when Dan Burn turned Jacob Ramsey’s cross into his own net in the 73rd minute.

Just two minutes later, substitute Amadou Onana capped off the scoring with an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner—leaving Nick Pope with no chance and the Holte End roaring.

Unai Emery's side nearly made it five when Jacob Ramsey struck the post late on, as Newcastle’s defending completely fell apart in the closing stages.

The win sees Villa draw level on points with fifth-placed Nottingham Forest and move to within two of third-placed Newcastle, in a season where the top five will qualify for next season’s Champions League.