Surging Aston Villa demolish Newcastle to boost European hopes

Red-hot Aston Villa demolished Newcastle 3-0 at Villa Park on Saturday as Ollie Watkins continues to lead their incredible surge up the Premier League table.

FULL MATCH REPLAY

It is the first time in 25 years that Villa have won five-straight Premier League games as Unai Emery has led them from a relegation scrap when he arrived in November to a real chance of European qualification as they’re now inserting themselves into the top four scrap after a run of seven wins in their last eight. Villa last qualified for Europe 13 years ago.

[ MORE: European, top four scrap ]

Jacob Ramsey set Villa on their way and two second half goals from in-form forward Watkins made it 3-0 and in truth the scoreline flattered Newcastle. Eddie Howe would not have seen this display coming as the third-place Magpies were on a run of five-straight Premier League wins and the manner of this defeat (just their fourth of the season) will hit their top four hopes.

Villa remain in sixth place in the table and have 50 points, six points off the top four. Newcastle have 56 points.

Look, it may be a long shot but the way Aston Villa are playing right now combined with their remaining schedule suggests they could somehow sneak into the top four. Remember: when Unai Emery took charge in November they were just one point above the relegation zone after sacking Steven Gerrard. With five wins in a row and seven victories in their last eight, they are now sixth and are in the hunt for European qualification. This Villa side always had the quality for a top 10 finish but they are overachieving under Emery who has set them up to be solid defensively but also carry a real threat in the final third (they have scored in all of his 18 PL games in charge).