The battle for European places in the Premier League is going to be cracking! Aston Villa produced one of the best performances since the arrival of their coach Unai Emery and outclassed wasteful Newcastle United to close the gap on fifth-placed Tottenham to just three points.An early opener by Jacob Ramsey and an Ollie Watkins second-half double put a speed bump on Newcastle’s road to the Champions League qualification. It was a well-derserved victory for Emery’s side that continues its remarkable revival under the Spanish coach. They were nervously looking down to the relegation places in October, but the former Villarreal and Arsenal tactician transformed them into one of the most solid sides in the English top division.▪️ Double against Newcastle▪️ 11 PL goals in 2023Ollie Watkins is the in-form striker in the Premier League 😤 pic.twitter.com/qu4UpwfIGn— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 15, 2023 The Villans hardly let the Magpies breathe in the first half-hour, attacking relentlessly, pressing the visitors and barely letting them get a touch of the ball. Emery’s boys could have been ahead in a matter of seconds within kick-off when Watkins escaped the sleeping defenders and saw his low shot kept out by the post. But there was no stopping the bright English talent. With the Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate watching, Watkins could have easily scored four of five goals on the day.Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring with just ten minutes gone, using Watkins’ assist to finish past Nick Pope and giving the travelling supporters a taste of what their afternoon will look like.##NAJAVA_MECA_7180202##Eddie Howe sent on Callum Wilson and previously injured Miguel Almiron on in an attempt to put the Villa defence under more pressure. The Magpies created a couple of promising openings but couldn’t make it count – and were quickly made to pay by the ruthless Watkins.With just over an hour gone, Watkins squeezed a low shot through the Pope’s hands, but VAR showed that he was just offside. However, the in-form goalscorer doubled the lead just a few minutes later. He received the ball at the six-yard line following a nice team move, turned and scored through the legs of diving defender Dan Burn.Unai Emery has got Aston Villa six points off the top four 📈 pic.twitter.com/L96lTmI9Ey— GOAL (@goal) April 15, 2023 Eddie Howe and his team’s efforts ended there and then and it was no surprise when Watkins forced another goal in to make it 3-0 against one of the tightest defence of the league.It’s a statement win for the team from Birmingham. When Newcastle sacked Steve Bruce, Emery was their first choice. Only when the Spaniard declined, they hired Howe. Maybe today’s game shows why.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 31SaturdayAston Villa – Newcastle United 3-0 (1-0)/Ramsey 11, Watkins 64, 83/17.00: (2.85) Southampton (3.00) Crystal Palace (2.81)17.00: (2.73) Chelsea (3.20) Brighton (2.75)17.00: (2.16) Everton (3.45) Fulham (3.90)17.00: (1.53) Tottenham (4.30) Bournemouth (6.50)17.00: (2.60) Wolverhampton (3.05) Brentford (2.75)19.30: (1.20) Man.City (9.00) Leicester (15.0)Sunday16.00: (6.25) West Ham (4.10) Arsenal (1.63)18.30: (4.90) Nott.Forest (3.60) Man.Utd. (1.79)Monday21:00: (4.70) Leeds (3.75) Liverpool (1.79)***odds are subject to change
