Emiliano Buendia’s long-range strike and Ollie Watkins’ header sealed 2-0 win for Aston Villa
Newcastle created chances worth 2.3 expected goals but failed to score at St James’ Park
Villa move level on points with Manchester City to remain in the Premier League title race
Newcastle United 0-2 Aston Villa, Premier League: Buendia, Watkins Score To Keep Emery's Side In Title Race
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa, English Premier League 2025-26: Aston Villa returned to winning ways with a composed 2-0 victory at St James’ Park, as goals from Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins kept them in the title race
Summary
Aston Villa bounced back from their defeat to Everton by dispatching Newcastle United 2-0 with a fine away performance.
Unai Emery's team were a shadow of their usual selves in their 1-0 loss to the Toffees last week, but they proved why they are in the Premier League title picture with a fantastic display at St James' Park on Sunday.
Sandro Tonali almost put Newcastle ahead inside 37 seconds, but Villa grew into the game and hit the front via a fantastic strike from Emiliano Buendia in the 19th minute.
Emiliano Martinez, on his 200th league appearance for Villa, made a strong save to deny Lewis Miley before half-time, and after Newcastle lost Joelinton to injury early in the second period, their comeback attempts fell flat.
Villa came on strong again in the closing stages, with Ollie Watkins testing Nick Pope from range before heading in the visitors' second when he met Lucas Digne's cross.
While Villa are back on level points with second-place Manchester City, Newcastle must now lick their wounds ahead of a crunch Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Blunt attack costs Newcastle
Newcastle failed to score despite generating chances worth 2.3 expected goals, which is their highest xG tally without finding the back of the net in a Premier League game since a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in September 2022 (2.8).
While Newcastle lost a home league game for the first time since September, Villa demonstrated their attacking edge.
Buendia's opener means Villa have netted 13 goals from outside the penalty area in the Premier League this season, the most of any side in the competition and their in the top flight since 2007-08 (16 on that occasion).
Digne then provided a sensational centre from which Watkins could hardly miss. Villa's goalscorers shared the attacking burden between them, with each of the duo having a team-high four attempts, and each getting three on target.
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