With the title race and relegation scrap long since decided, the dash for the European places needs to deliver drama down the stretch of this Premier League season. Aston Villa did exactly that, smashing the top-five race wide open with a win over Newcastle United that moved them level with Nottingham Forest in the final golden ticket spot.
This 4-1 win was almost as impressive as Tuesday night’s near miss against PSG, another of Europe’s most in-form sides finding that Villa Park is a tough place to go when Unai Emery can throw so many talented attacking players at you. From the 33rd second, Newcastle were on the back foot, Ollie Watkins’ strike deflecting in off Fabian Schar. The Swiss center-back, perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card for hauling down Villa’s striker while chasing a long ball, made amends with a back-post header that saw the Magpies level heading into halftime.
They rarely looked capable of maintaining parity. Upon Eddie Howe returning from his struggles with pneumonia, addressing why Newcastle, having won their last three matches by an aggregate score of 12-1, seem to run out of steam during the closing stages of demanding game weeks should be high on his to-do list. An unchanged XI across five games in April likely explains much of it.
In contrast, Villa, free from significant injuries, possessed an excess of talent to deploy against Newcastle. Watkins turned in a spirited performance, likely motivated by having his starting spot usurped by Marcus Rashford, ultimately completing the match with a goal, a crossbar that was rattled from two powerful efforts, and the assist for Ian Maatsen’s strike to make it 2-1 just minutes after the restart.
Emery’s substitutions proved impactful as Jacob Ramsey darted down the left allow a low cross flicked on by Youri Tielemans, subsequently turned in by Dan Burn. Fellow substitute Amadou Onana rounded out the scoring with a stunning drive into the top corner from 20 yards.
At this stage, Villa appears to be the team that has timed their surge perfectly. Five consecutive wins have placed them sixth temporarily, defeating both Nottingham Forest and now Newcastle effectively pulling the leaders closer towards the rest of the contenders. Chelsea in particular ought to send a bottle of wine to Emery.
Meanwhile, Manchester City would have cause to regard their upcoming match against Villa with some concern. They have been managing to collect the necessary points lately. Given their upcoming challenge against a resurgent Everton at Goodison Park, which remains one of the last venues where they haven’t secured a victory this season, the three points they clinched with a last-minute goal were decidedly invaluable.
Typically, when City starts to build late-season momentum, it propels them toward larger goals than mere Champions League qualification. However, Pep Guardiola insists it would mark a “big, big success” for his injury-plagued team to secure their Champions League slot.
“Today was really, really important,” said Guardiola. “Of course, the motivation is different when you’re fighting for the title, but we accepted that many months ago. I emphasized to the players that qualification for the Champions League in this country is a noteworthy accomplishment. We shouldn’t lament our poorer season; we still have prospects for improvement and hitting our targets in the future.
“If we deem that Champions League qualification is insufficient, we’re being arrogant. We’re behaving presumptuously, which is not how we should conduct ourselves. Since I arrived nine years ago, I have consistently regarded Champions League qualification as a substantial success.”
The prospect of whether they will achieve that remains uncertain as they head into a crucial week for results.
