Aston Villa hammer Newcastle United 4-1 to extend unbeaten home run | OneFootball

Aston Villa lit up Villa Park with a second-half performance that left Newcastle United stunned, as they ran out 4-1 winners in the Premier League. After a first half that ended 1-1, the hosts unleashed a furious attacking spell that saw them put three more past the visitors in just over 10 minutes. It was a statement win that felt like a continuation of their impressive display against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The first half started brilliantly for the home side. Sandro Tonali’s clearance was cut out by Youri Tielemans, and the Belgian played Ollie Watkins into the box. Watkins cut inside and shot early, but the ball took a huge deflection off Fabian Schär, wrong-footing Nick Pope to make it 1-0 after just 33 seconds.

But in the 18th minute, the visitors leveled the score. Schär stayed forward after a free-kick was half-cleared by Villa, and Harvey Barnes swung in a splendid cross which the Swiss defender met at the far post, heading it down to make it 1-1, redeeming himself for the earlier deflection past his own goalkeeper.

Villa’s second-half onslaught began when Ollie Watkins, who had already scored in the first minute, turned creator with a sharp pass into the box. It found Ian Maatsen, the full-back who marched in unmarked and fired home for his first Premier League goal. That strike thumbed the mood inside the stadium, and the visitors never recovered.

Soon after, Villa extended their lead following a mistake at the back from Newcastle United. A dangerous ball across the face of the goal from Jacob Ramsey caused panic, and Dan Burn bundled it into his own net under pressure from Donyell Malen.

But Villa wasn’t done. Amadou Onana, only just introduced into the fray, unleashed a thunderbolt from distance, taking the roof off Villa Park after a smart layoff by Morgan Rogers.

Villa had chances to make it five. Ross Barkley saw a powerful header crash off the bar, while Pope smothered Malen’s late effort.

The result brings Newcastle’s five-game winning run to an abrupt end and sees them miss the chance to pull clear in third place. Meanwhile, Unai Emery’s side go striding on, making it five wins on the bounce and moving up to sixth in the Premier League table, level on points with Nottingham Forest ahead of them, as the race for the top five heats up. The result also extended Villa’s unbeaten home run to 16 matches in the league.