Aston Villa put on a stunning show against Newcastle, halting their five-game unbeaten run with a crushing 3-0 win that boosted their chances of qualifying for Europe.
Ollie Watkins was on top of his game, scoring 2 goals and making an assist for Villa in their 3-0 win against Newcastle. The 27-year-old caused endless problems for the Newcastle defence and nearly scored within the first half minute, hitting the post.
The visitors struggled to keep up with the movements of the Englishman, who made an excellent header on the stretch to set up Jacob Ramsey for a brilliant goal just 11 minutes into the game.
Newcastle were lucky to be trailing by only one goal at halftime after Ramsey hit the crossbar as well.
However, things went from bad to worse for Newcastle after the hour mark when Watkins extended Villa's lead, spinning in the area to fire a goal past Nick Pope just moments after a VAR offside call had denied him a goal.
Watkins secured his brace and Villa's fifth consecutive league victory in the last 10 minutes of the game, finishing off a low cross from Emi Buendia.
This win guarantees Villa sixth place this weekend, while Newcastle's hopes of a top-four finish took a hit, with Manchester United and Tottenham now in a position to overtake them.
The match at Villa Park saw Watkins assert his dominance early on, hitting the post within seconds of the start. He proved himself as more than just a target man, taking on Fabian Schar and turning provider for Ramsey's opening goal.
Villa's profligacy kept Newcastle in the game, but they were unable to make any meaningful attempts on goal. The visitors did show some promise in the second half with Callum Wilson's entry, but Watkins' second goal soon dashed their hopes.
Villa's win was well-deserved, and Newcastle's poor performance puts their chances of qualifying for the Champions League in jeopardy.
