Aston Villa showed incoming manager Unai Emery the scale of the job on his hands as they were thrashed 4-0 by Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Emery was not in the stands in the north east as Aaron Danks remained in the dugout, with his caretaker spell ending on a sour note despite a bright first half from the visitors.
They worked plenty of good openings in a first half including 10 minutes of added time, owing to a number of injury stoppages, before Ashley Young’s handball gave Callum Wilson the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot, and he duly obliged.
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The second half proved as contrasting as they come with Newcastle scintillating and Villa calamitous. A training-ground more from a corner saw Wilson nod in a second before Joelinton added a third three minutes later to end the game as a contest.
Newcastle continued to cut their visitors apart at will with Wilson and Jacob Murphy both denied by the woodwork, while Miguel Almiron continued his sparkling form with a wonderful curling effort from 25 yards to add a real shine to a comprehensive home win.
Emery will still have the luxury of taking over a side outside the bottom three but will be concerned after the manner of their collapse, while Newcastle’s win, coupled with results elsewhere, sees them open up a three-point gap inside the top four.
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How second-half collapse brought Villa down to earth
The last time Villa had won a Premier League game at St James’ Park, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer were both sent off for fighting – and the fact both players have been retired for almost a decade was an indicator of what an unhappy hunting ground it has proven.
But after a thumping 4-0 win over Brentford last weekend, Danks’ team arrived full of confidence, and held Newcastle at bay for most of the first half, with both sides’ lack of rhythm not helped by two lengthy stoppages for injuries to Emiliano Martinez, who was eventually substituted with concussion after taking a knee to the face from Tyrone Mings.
Almiron manufactured what looked likely to be the only chance of note before the interval when latching onto Kieran Trippier’s through ball and pulling a fine stop from substitute goalkeeper Robin Olsen, but Young’s inadvertent raised arm from the Paraguayan’s next effort minutes later soon undid all their good work.
Wilson sent Olsen the wrong way from 12 yards with Gareth Southgate watching on from the stands, before Villa went in at the break very much still in the game – but well out of it within 11 minutes of the restart.
Miguel Almiron's goal was his sixth in as many games
Not long into the second half, Almiron’s run to support Trippier from a corner was untracked and after a quick one-two, Wilson took advantage of some equally poor marking to guide a pinpoint cross just inside the far post.
Villa’s defence fell apart from that moment on. Wilson drove at Mings and Ezri Konsa moments after the next kick-off with no sign of a challenge, and after exchanging passes with Joe Willock, saw his effort saved straight into the path of Joelinton, who fired into an empty net.
Almiron’s performance always threatened another goal to add to his growing collection and he got it midway through the second half, driving inside from Wilson’s pass before arching the ball past a helpless Olsen from outside the box, as Villa’s good work from last weekend’s win was rapidly undone.
It could have been more with Wilson denied by the woodwork and a last-ditch challenge from Mings, while Murphy was inches away from adding a fifth himself.
Newcastle’s desire to add to their already significant tally said a lot about how far they have come, while Villa’s collapse said just as much about how far they still have to go. New manager Emery has a job on his hands at Villa Park.
What’s next?
Sunday 6th November 1:00pm
Kick off 2:00pm
Newcastle‘s next match is a Super Sunday clash at Southampton, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 2pm. The Magpies then end the first half of this Premier League season with back-to-back home games: against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on November 9, before hosting Chelsea on Saturday Night Football three days later, live on Sky Sports from 5pm.
Aston Villa will have Unai Emery available as manager for their last three games before the World Cup, starting with back-to-back matches against Manchester United.
Villa host Erik ten Hag’s side next Sunday in the Premier League, before going to Old Trafford four days later for their Carabao Cup third-round clash, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 8pm. Villa’s last match before the World Cup is a trip to Brighton on November 13.
Thursday 10th November 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
