Aston Villa striker, Ollie Watkins has hailed manager Unai Emery for a perfect game-plan after they secured victory at Saint James’ Park for the first time since 2005, Softfootball reports.
The England international sealed the win with a late header after Emiliano Buendía’s first-half rocket. Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Newcastle away from home was their first in 18 attempts which made it even sweeter.
Speaking after the match in an interview shared via Aston Villa’s official X handle, Watkins expressed satisfaction with the victory and praised the manager. He said:
We played really good. You could feel it in the game, you could feel that their fans were getting frustrated. We were having a lot of joy in the first half on a counter-attack. The boss got the game plan spot. We played over their press and kept putting it long towards me and even if I wasn’t winning it, we attacked the second balls and go from there.
The striker believes it was a better performance than last weekend where Aston Villa lost 1-0 at home to Everton which made the game against Newcastle United really important as they chase their UEFA Champions League spot for next season. He said:
I think it was a really strong performance off the back of a disappointing performance against Everton at home. We were flat there, and they deserved to win the game. We had a little blip, but it’s nice to bounce back and get a big three points here, because I don’t think we’ve won here since I’ve been here.
Here is the interview of Ollie Watkins talking about the Newcastle United match as shared via Aston Villa’s official X handle. Watch video below.
🗣️ "The Boss got the game-plan spot-on."
Ollie reflecting on three points in the North East 💬 pic.twitter.com/wWzSLLaqvQ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 26, 2026Aston Villa are currently placed third on the premier league table with 46 points after 23 matches so far this season.
