Fabian Schar’s quickfire double set Newcastle on their way to a 3-1 win at Aston Villa, ending a run of four straight Premier League defeats and consigning Unai Emery’s side to their first home loss of the season.
The Swiss defender scored twice in five first-half minutes before an own goal from Alex Moreno all but sealed the victory early in the second half.
Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal for Villa, who have won only one of their last five Premier League matches.
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How the match unfolded
Villa started on the front foot and pinned Newcastle inside their own half, but they struggled to break the visitors down.
Anthony Gordon had a great chance to open the scoring for Newcastle as he dribbled around two Villa defenders in the box before shooting, but Emiliano Martinez smothered the winger’s effort.
Gordon had another chance following a counter-attack, but his deflected strike went over the crossbar.
It was from Kieran Trippier's corner that Newcastle took the lead on 32 minutes, with Schar getting in front of Ezri Konsa and finding the bottom-right corner from close range.
Trippier's eighth assist of the season moves him level with Mohamed Salah and Watkins in the race for the Playmaker award.
Schar then scored again four minutes later as he reacted quickest to a rebound. A deflected shot from Gordon cannoned off the crossbar and Schar poked it past Martinez to make it 2-0.
Newcastle continued to play on the break and scored a third when Alex Moreno put the ball into his own net from Miguel Almiron’s cross seven minutes into the second half.
The hosts pushed forward as they sought a way back into the game, and Villa did pull a goal back in the 71st minute when Watkins got on the end of a low cross from Leon Bailey to score his 50th Premier League goal.
Villa’s energy levels increased and Watkins thought he had scored a second goal two minutes later as he lifted the ball over Martin Dubravka and into the net, but it was ruled out for offside.
Sean Longstaff was denied a fourth goal for Newcastle as his shot from point-blank range was saved by Martinez, but it mattered not as the Magpies secure only their second away win of the season, moving them up to seventh on 32 points.
Villa stay fourth with 43 points, five behind leaders Liverpool having played one match more, after their 17-match unbeaten home run came to an end.
See: Aston Villa report | Newcastle report
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Newcastle have now scored eight goals against Aston Villa in the Premier League this season; in Emery's career within the big five European leagues, this is the joint-most they've conceded against an opponent in a single league campaign (also eight by Real Madrid, in 2010/11 and 2013/14).
Watkins has become just the third player to score 50 Premier League goals for Aston Villa (along with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Dwight Yorke), while he's the first player to score 10+ goals in four consecutive seasons in the competition for the club.
Prior to scoring a first-half brace for Newcastle in this match, Schar hadn't scored with any of his previous 73 shots attempted in the Premier League. Coming into tonight, this was the longest active run of any player involved in the competition in 2023/24 for shots without scoring.
Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier has made the joint-most assists in the Premier League this season (eight), drawing level with Mohamed Salah and Watkins with his assist for Schar’s opener tonight.