19/04/2025 15:01
Ollie Watkins returned to the starting lineup with a bang as Aston Villa beat Newcastle United 4-1 at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side will have been deeply disappointed after being knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, but nobody in attendance at Villa Park could tell on Saturday, 19 April.
Watkins opened the scoring within the first minute, and while the Villans were pegged back by Fabian Schar’s header, Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana’s efforts sandwiched an own goal from Dan Burn.
Villa have moved level on points with fifth-place Nottingham Forest, with Champions League qualification there for the team to grab with two hands, and the momentum is now with Emery’s side.
Ian Maatsen inspires Aston Villa win v Newcastle United
Emi Martinez – 6
Made a handful of saves, and even released Watkins on a number of occasions, but Villa failed to keep a clean sheet after he allowed Schar’s effort to squirm under him in the first half.
Matty Cash – 5
Often found himself out-strengthed or giving the ball away in dangerous areas, but more often than not, he made up for his mistakes.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Couldn’t keep the clean sheet. Very meticulous with his passes, rarely getting one wrong, but he did miss a couple of duels against one of the most in-form attacks in the division.
Tyrone Mings – 7
A very sound display from the centre-half, who dominated in the air and made the Liverpool-linked star striker Alexander Isak look a shadow of his normal self.
Ian Maatsen – 8
A superb strike to retake the lead for Villa. Kept the in-form Jacob Murphy extremely quiet on the left flank and even managed to get forward himself.
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Boubacar Kamara (Off for Barkley 82′) – 5
Often found himself out-strengthed in the middle of the park. While he created chances in the final third, it was his defensive display which was lacking.
Youri Tielemans – 8
Another accomplished display from the Belgian creative genius. Bagged the assist for the opening goal and continued having an impact at Villa Park.
Morgan Rogers (Off for Malen 82′) – 7
An accomplished performance from the in-form winger, grabbing yet another winger. He created multiple chances, had multiple shots at goal, and caused chaos throughout the game.
Marco Asensio (Off for Onana 72′) – 3
Possibly low on confidence after two penalty misses against Southampton, Asensio was not up to his usual goalscoring standards, even if he created a few chances in the process.
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John McGinn (Off for Ramsey 72′) – 6
Bought several fouls against a frustrated Newcastle side, led his team up the pitch and threatened Nick Pope on two occasions.
Ollie Watkins (Off for Rashford 82′) – 9 – Man of the Match
Absolutely sublime. Chomping at the bit to get back out on the pitch, Watkins proved himself after being dropped for Marcus Rashford in recent weeks.
Substitutes
Amadou Onana (On for Asensio 72′) – 8
Scored with a stunning strike to cap off an amazing evening at Villa Park.
Jacob Ramsey (On for McGinn 72′) – 7
Had an instant impact, forcing Burn into his own goal, but the academy graduate could not get his name on the scoresheet, sadly.
Ross Barkley (On for Kamara 82′) – 6
Had a shot from an audacious angle. Not much time for anything else.
Donyell Malen (On for Rogers 82)’ – 5
Nearly found himself in-behind, only for Pope to mop up the through-ball.
Marcus Rashford (On for Watkins 82′) – 6
Not given nearly enough time to make a key impact, but did create a chance in his eight minutes on the pitch.
The post Marco Asensio awful, Ollie Watkins superb - Aston Villa ratings v Newcastle appeared first on Football Insider.
