FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – Aston Villa reignited its bid for a UEFA Champions League spot with a decisive 4-1 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday.
Ollie Watkins wasted no time, scoring just 30 seconds into the match. Newcastle, coming off dominant wins over Manchester United and Crystal Palace, equalized in the 18th minute through Fabian Schar’s header.
Ian Maatsen restored Villa’s lead in the 64th minute after a Watkins assist. An own goal from Dan Burn in the 73rd minute further extended Villa’s advantage before Amadou Onana added a fourth just two minutes later.
Meanwhile, Manchester City climbed to fourth after late goals from Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic sealed a 2-0 win over Everton. The home side suffered a setback with defender James Tarkowski’s hamstring injury, ending his streak of 111 consecutive appearances.
Brentford secured its first home win since December with a 4-2 victory over Brighton, featuring a brace from Bryan Mbeumo. Brighton, reduced to 10 men after Joao Pedro’s red card, saw Danny Welbeck and Kaoru Mitoma find the net.
Crystal Palace held Bournemouth to a 0-0 draw despite playing with 10 men in the second half following Chris Richards’ dismissal.
West Ham struggled again, settling for a 1-1 draw against Southampton. Jarrod Bowen’s goal was canceled out by Lesley Ugochukwu’s late equalizer, leaving Southampton one point from avoiding its worst-ever top-flight season.
Liverpool could secure the Premier League title on Sunday with a win at Leicester City, provided Ipswich Town defeats second-placed Arsenal.