Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle – Fabian Schar double downs Villans as Magpies end Premier League losing streak

Fabian Schar scored a rare quickfire double as Newcastle United condemned Aston Villa to their first home Premier League defeat of the season in a glorious 3-1 win at Villa Park.

The win halted Newcastle’s Premier League losing streak at four games as Eddie Howe’s men completed a convincing victory on the road at a formidable venue.

Unai Emery’s side could have moved second top of the table with three points, but were stunned as the visiting Swiss central defender netted twice in the space of four first-half minutes to silence the Holte End.

He connected with Kieran Trippier’s corner to give his side the lead from six yards with a calm finish on 32 minutes before repeating the feat on 36 minutes with his right boot to tap into the net after a deflected Anthony Gordon effort had come back off the underside of the bar.

Newcastle added a killer third when Villa full-back Alex Moreno bundled the ball into his own net after colliding with a post from a mishit Jacob Murphy finish on 52 minutes.

Ollie Watkins scored a consolation on 71 minutes for his 50th Premier League goal for Villa from a delightful cross from substitute Leon Bailey, but his side were well beaten on the night.

It is the first time Villa have lost a Premier League encounter at home since a 4-2 loss to Arsenal 11 months ago with Newcastle also ending an 11-year wait to win at the ground on league business.

Eddie Howe’s side move up to seventh in the table with 32 points from 22 matches, 11 behind Villa who remain in fourth spot on 43 points.

The Premier League remains as unpredictable as it is entertaining.

Eddie Howe watched his injury-ravaged side slump to defeats at Luton and at home to Nottingham Forest in a miserable four-match losing run in the Premier League before they visited a buoyant Villa team who had not suffered a defeat at their home venue since last February.

In such a respect, Newcastle had every right to feel some trepidation before this contest, but what transpired was a dominant victory that invoked memories of their rousing fourth-place finish last season as they completed a terrific evening.

They are back up to seventh place in the table, a position that would be enough to claim a place in European football next season, but you sense Howe will demand more from his team in the closing 16 matches of the campaign.

“When you’re coaching a team, you want them to play how you see the game,” said Howe on TNT Sports. “That has been there, but it’s been frustrating. Today I saw the team and the identity we’re looking for.”

A dominant performance in defence was enhanced by a clinical first-half double to knock the stuffing out of Villa. Almost became the first defender in Premier League history to score a hat-trick late on with only a last-gasp challenge by Clément Lenglet denying him his treble as Newcastle constantly troubled the home side at set-pieces.

Aston Villa: Martinez 7, Cash 6, Konsa 6, Lenglet 6, Moreno 6, McGinn 6, Luiz 6, Kamara 6, Tielemans 6, Diaby 6, Watkins 7 Subs: Zaniolo 6, Bailey 7, Ramsey 6

Newcastle: Dubravka 7, Trippier 7, Schar 8, Botman 7, Burn 7, Miley 7, Guimaraes 7, S Longstaff 7, Murphy 7, Isak 7, Gordon 7 Subs: Livramento 6, Almiron 7

32′ GOAL FOR NEWCASTLE! (SCHAR) Trippier with the delivery from the corner. Ball falls perfectly to Fabian Schär, who gets ahead of Konsa to clip the ball into the net with his boot from six yards. All so easy. A 1-0 lead for the visitors.

36′ GOAL FOR NEWCASTLE! (SCHAR) Would you believe this. Gordon with a dangerous deflected hit at goal from distance. Spins off Lenglet, comes up off the ground and down off the underside of the bar via Martinez. Schar is on hand to slip home the rebound. Simple tap-in. Suddenly it is 2-0 to the visitors.

52′ GOAL FOR NEWCASTLE! (MURPHY) Gordon with a brilliant run and pass to Almiron who crosses for Murphy to squeeze it home as Moreno ends up hitting the post as he tried and failed to keep it out with Martinez out of the picture. It is 3-0. Stunning move. Surely game, set and match. A 3-0 lead.

71′ GOAL FOR VILLA! (WATKINS) Well now. Perhaps there is life in the old game yet as Watkins reacts brilliantly to knock the ball into the net from the Bailey cross. Delightful finish for Villa, who have fresh hope.

74′ VAR RULES OUT A SECOND VILLA GOAL Bailey is causing all sorts of problems as he slips the pass through to Watkins, who is just offside as he chips the ball brilliantly over Dúbravka as he raced out. Terrific finish from Watkins, but it won’t count. Huge relief for the visiting side.