Newcastle United suffered a setback in their bid to secure Champions League football following a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Jacob Ramsey and Ollie Watkins were on target - with the latter netting twice - to put the Magpies to the sword following a disappointing display from Eddie Howe’s men. Both teams went into the Villa Park clash in sizzling form, but Unai Emery got the better of Howe, with Villa overpowering their visitors to keep up their Europa League chase.
It was a poor start for Newcastle, who allowed Ollie Watkins through on goal within seconds of kick-off. The Villa star was denied by the post, but the home side did not have to wait long to take the lead. A long ball to the back post saw Kieran tripper outjumped by Watkins, who nodded down for Jacob Ramsey to slot home.
Emery’s men dominated the first half, and Nick Pope had to step up to prevent a second shortly after the opener. The Magpies would go on to settle into the clash a little, but they created little danger going forward, with both full-backs spending most of the first 45’ chasing their man and scrambling to get back into position.
The second half began in similar fashion, with Pope called into action within two minutes of the restart, reacting well to deny Watkins after the striker gave Sven Botman the slip. Watkins did the same again after the hour-mark, but a VAR review denied him a second, albeit temporarily.
Shortly after, in the 64th minute, Watkins stapped away from marker Dan Burn to latch onto Alex Moreno’s low cross and fire home. There was no VAR review to save Newcastle this time, and in truth, Villa deserved the two-goal lead. Newcastle looked tactically outdone from minute one at Villa Park. Naturally, the Magpies did have the odd chance, and they improved slightly offensively after Callum Wilson was brought on, but they failed to find a way back into the game.
And Villa went on to find a third when Watkins doubled his tally for the afternoon, controlling the ball to send Trippier into a spin before slotting home.
Join us below as we rate each of the players based on their performance in the Midlands...
1. Nick Pope - 6
Big save to stop it being 2-0 following a sloppy start from his back four. He also pulled off a big save early in the second half. Pope perhaps should have claimed the cross for the first goal, but he didn’t make any major errors and did make a few good saves.
2. Kieran Trippier - 2
Beaten at back post for knock down for the goal. He was also caught and almost punished shortly after, but Pope bailed him out. Trippier looked lost too often at Villa Park, including for the third goal. Answers on a postcard. This was a disastrous display from the skipper, who is usually so reliable.
3. Sven Botman - 3
Given the runaround by Watkins for the most part. Couldn’t handle the striker’s movement, and it showed on the second goal, in particular.
4. Fabian Schar - 5
Not as guilty as Botman, but he formed part of a defence that found itself chasing all afternoon.