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According to Boss Eddie Howe, Newcastle demonstrated their ability by ending Aston Villa’s undefeated streak at home, despite doubts from others.
Fabian Schar scored two goals in the first half and Alex Moreno’s own goal contributed to the Magpies’ well-deserved 3-1 victory in Birmingham.
Villa’s Ollie Watkins scored his 50th goal in the Premier League, providing hope for the team. However, they were unable to make a comeback.
Villa experienced their initial loss at home in the top division since February of last year, following a string of six defeats in seven league matches by Newcastle.
Howe stated that they have addressed numerous inquiries, but it’s important to remember that it’s only one match and they must continue to improve upon the last two outcomes. Newcastle has now moved up to seventh place.
The players performed exceptionally well and it was a great victory. We resembled our past selves from last year.
“Our strong beginning instilled confidence and resulted in a successful away performance. The task now is to sustain this momentum.”
Our performance in away games during cup competitions has been satisfactory, however, our record in the Premier League has been disappointing.
I had conflicting feelings about the game because the opposing team is highly skilled. The conflicting part is that we haven’t performed at that level in several weeks. We played more like our usual selves and we have some players returning.
Emi Martinez denied Anthony Gordon before Schar scored two goals within four minutes in the first half.
The defender took advantage of weak defending by Douglas Luiz and Ezri Konsa during Kieran Trippier’s corner kick to score the first goal at the 32-minute mark.
Shortly after Gordon’s attempt was redirected upwards and, when the resulting corner was only partially cleared, the winger’s strike hit Clement Lenglet, bounced off the bottom of the crossbar, and was then poked in by Schar.
Newcastle maintained their control six minutes into the second half as Miguel Almiron replaced Alexander Isak, who left the field with a possible groin injury. Almiron stole the ball from Matty Cash and was passed to by Gordon’s return pass.
Jacob Murphy received a cross and his shot, deflected off Moreno who was sliding, went into the net.
Villa displayed some resilience and managed to score a goal after Moussa Diaby’s near miss. With 19 minutes remaining, Watkins successfully converted Leon Bailey’s cross into a goal.
The forward was also denied a goal due to a close offside decision two minutes later, but the team was unable to bounce back.
Villa maintains their fourth place position, but may be surpassed by Tottenham if they defeat Brentford on Wednesday.
Boss Unai Emery expressed his pride in the players and supporters after a string of successful matches, but acknowledged that a loss was inevitable. Meanwhile, Aston Villa is set to announce the signing of Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough for a reported fee of £16 million.
We must maintain our perspective. While winning is preferable, we are up against seven teams that are stronger than us. However, we have our own process. The message is to continue moving forward and seek solace in the work we are putting in.
We are feeling frustrated and somewhat let down, but from our point of view, we are content. Our execution was not precise and we allowed more opportunities and set pieces than usual.
“We currently have 43 points and our goal is to maintain this lead and then shift our focus to Saturday’s match against Sheffield United.”
Source: independent.co.uk
