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Eleven of Ollie Watkins' 14 Premier League goals this season have come in his past 12 appearancesOllie Watkins continued his prolific form with two goals as Aston Villa boosted their European hopes with an emphatic victory over Newcastle, whose five-match winning run came to a shuddering halt at Villa Park.
Watkins had already struck the foot of the post, forced two fine saves out of Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope and had an effort ruled out for offside by the time he gave Villa a two-goal cushion with his 10th goal in 12 league appearances.
The former Brentford striker completed a one-sided victory with eight minutes remaining, converting a low shot via a slight deflection off Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier.
Unai Emery's team dominated the early stages and took a deserved lead when Jacob Ramsey swept Watkins' cushioned header low into the net.
Watkins almost scored inside 30 seconds when he struck the foot of the post after shrugging off Sven Botman's challenge.
Ramsey struck the crossbar in a one-sided opening, before Pope kept out another Watkins effort early in the second half.
Alexander Isak had a shot parried over the bar by Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez as Newcastle improved after the restart, but Watkins gave the home side breathing space with a close-range finish before completing the scoring late on.
Villa, who have won five straight Premier League games for the first time since 1998, are now only six points off third-placed Newcastle having played one game more.
Manchester United will leapfrog Newcastle into third if they avoid defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
- Reaction to Aston Villa's win over Newcastle
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Villa and Watkins flying high
Emery's decision to reject Newcastle's advances following the Saudi-led takeover appears to have benefited all parties, with Villa mounting a late surge for Europe and Eddie Howe's team still firmly in the top-four mix.
But this was very much Villa's afternoon as they inflicted a heaviest defeat of the campaign on Newcastle thanks to a masterful display.
Villa have now won 12 of their 18 matches under Emery and only leaders Arsenal and champions Manchester City can match their tally of 38 points during that period.
Villa could have been 3-0 ahead inside the opening quarter of an hour but were twice denied by the frame of the goal, while Watkins also drew a five save from Pope not long after Ramsey's opener.
After being denied by the England keeper yet again three minutes into the second half, Watkins thought he had finally made the scoresheet on the hour-mark when he was ruled narrowly offside by the video assistant referee.
With England manager Gareth Southgate watching on in the stands, 27-year-old Watkins added gloss to a perfect Villa performance with two clinical second-half finishes, lifting his league tally for the season to 15.
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Aston Villa
Squad number1Player nameE Martínez
Squad number18Player nameYoung
Squad number4Player nameKonsa
Squad number5Player nameMings
Squad number15Player nameÁlex Moreno
Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
Squad number10Player nameBuendía
Squad number41Player nameJ Ramsey
Squad number11Player nameWatkins
Squad number16Player nameChambers
Squad number22Player nameDurán
Newcastle United
Squad number22Player namePope
Squad number2Player nameTrippier
Squad number5Player nameSchär
Squad number4Player nameBotman
Squad number33Player nameBurn
Squad number28Player nameWillock
Squad number39Player nameBruno Guimarães
Squad number7Player nameJoelinton
Squad number23Player nameMurphy
Squad number14Player nameIsak
Squad number8Player nameGordon
Squad number9Player nameWilson
Squad number13Player nameTargett
Squad number24Player nameAlmirón
Squad number32Player nameAnderson
Squad number36Player nameS Longstaff
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1E Martínez
- 18Young
- 4Konsa
- 5Mings
- 15Moreno Lopera
- 32Dendoncker
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 7McGinn
- 10Buendía
- 41J RamseySubstituted forChambersat 85'minutes
- 11WatkinsSubstituted forDuránat 90+1'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 3Santos Silva
- 9Traoré
- 16Chambers
- 22Durán
- 25Olsen
- 27Digne
- 38Sinisalo
- 56Revan
- 66Patterson
Newcastle
Formation 4-3-3
- 22Pope
- 2Trippier
- 5SchärBooked at 22mins
- 4Botman
- 33BurnSubstituted forTargettat 68'minutes
- 28WillockSubstituted forS Longstaffat 68'minutes
- 39Bruno Guimarães
- 7JoelintonSubstituted forAndersonat 80'minutes
- 23MurphySubstituted forWilsonat 56'minutes
- 14Isak
- 8GordonSubstituted forAlmirónat 56'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Dúbravka
- 6Lascelles
- 9Wilson
- 11Ritchie
- 13Targett
- 19Manquillo
- 24Almirón
- 32Anderson
- 36S Longstaff
Referee:John Brooks
Attendance:42,055
Live Text
Match ends, Aston Villa 3, Newcastle United 0.
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 3, Newcastle United 0.
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Callum Wilson (Newcastle United).
Jhon Durán (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Jhon Durán (Aston Villa).
Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Jhon Durán replaces Ollie Watkins.
Foul by Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa).
Matt Targett (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Offside, Newcastle United. Elliot Anderson tries a through ball, but Bruno Guimarães is caught offside.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Calum Chambers replaces Jacob Ramsey because of an injury.
Goal! Aston Villa 3, Newcastle United 0. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jacob Ramsey.
Attempt missed. Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Emiliano Buendía.
Ashley Young (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United).
Attempt missed. Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Matt Targett with a cross following a set piece situation.
Foul by Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa).
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