Ollie Watkins continued his scintillating form with a brace and assist as Aston Villa aided their European hopes with a merited 3-0 win over Newcastle United at Villa Park.
With England boss Gareth Southgate watching on, Watkins netted his 13th and 14th top-flight goals of the season after setting up Jacob Ramsey’s first-half opener, as the Lions won five Premier League games in a row for the first time since 1998.
For Newcastle, defeat ended their own five-game triumphant run in the top flight, and Eddie Howe could have had few complaints, as his side were second best from start to finish.
Both sets of supporters barely had time to take their seats before the red-hot Watkins had his first sighter of goal in the opening minute, but the normally reliable England striker could only scuff his shot onto the post, handing Newcastle an early reprieve.
However, Howe’s men did not heed that early warning, as a front-footed Villa continued to come forward in droves and were rewarded in the 11th minute through Ramsey’s fourth Premier League goal of the season.
A John McGinn cross from the right was headed down by Watkins into the penalty area, and Ramsey arrived on the scene to drill home a low effort into Nick Pope’s goal.
Watkins’s assist saw the 27-year-old register his 50th Premier League goal contribution for Villa – doing so in 102 games, second-quickest only to Christian Benteke’s 88 – and the best defence in the league struggled to cope with his bulldozing display.
Only the outstretched leg of Pope denied Watkins doubling Villa’s lead in the 15th minute, and Alex Moreno immediately kept the ball alive on the left before cutting back for Ramsey, whose curling effort struck the bar in another let-off for the under-performing Magpies.
The visitors’ lacklustre display was characterised by a spate of needless fouls in Villa’s half, while their best opening came from a Jacob Murphy cross from the right, but the ball fizzed in front of Alexander Isak and harmlessly away.
Anthony Gordon in particular failed to justify his selection, but Howe stuck with the same 11 players for the second half, where the legs of Pope once again denied Watkins in the 49th minute before Murphy flashed one wide at the other end of the field.
Newcastle exhibited a bit more attacking bite approaching the hour mark, as Emiliano Martinez was forced into an acrobatic save from Isak’s curling shot before Kieran Trippier fired into the side netting from a tight angle in the 59th minut
Just two minutes later, Villa thought that they had given themselves some breathing space when Watkins’s shot trickled under Pope’s arm and over the line, but the Englishman had gone slightly too early from Moreno’s pass, and a quick VAR review saw the goal ruled out for offside.
The deadly double act of Moreno and Watkins were not to be denied, though, as with 64 minutes on the clock, the latter received Moreno’s ball into the box with his back to goal, turned away from Dan Burn and slotted home the hosts’ second through his compatriot’s legs – leaving Pope rooted to the spot.
Newcastle’s paltry efforts to restore parity were fruitless, and they were punished further by a clinical Watkins in the 84th minute, as he calmly converted from Emiliano Buendia’s cutback – albeit with the help of a slight deflection off Trippier – to lay any lingering doubts over the result to rest.
Villa remain in sixth place in the table and have temporarily cut the gap to fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur down to three points, while Newcastle are clinging on to third place, although Manchester United are only behind on goal difference with a game in hand.
Next up for Emery’s side is a trip to Brentford in seven days’ time, while the Magpies welcome Tottenham to St James’ Park on April 23 in a crucial contest between two top-four hopefuls.
