BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa’s 2-0 win at Newcastle United in the Premier League
07:00, 26 Jan 2026Updated 08:04, 26 Jan 2026
Aston Villa have now kept successive clean sheets(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Aston Villa have finally beaten Newcastle United at St. James’ Park again.
Approaching 21 years since their last victory on Tyneside, Villa downed their hosts 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to earn back-to-back wins in the space of days.
Emi Buendia opened the scoring in the first half, beating Nick Pope with a fine strike from distance. Ollie Watkins then sealed the result late on, heading in his eighth goal of the season.
Here are the talking points from Villa’s win…
Winning in Istanbul and Newcastle within 70 hours
Just 66 hours after beating Fenerbahce 1–0 in Istanbul, Villa could have been forgiven for showing signs of fatigue at St. James’ Park. Instead, Unai Emery’s side powered to another impressive victory.
Although they came under pressure in the second half, Villa remained defensively solid and conceded few clear-cut chances.
Having lost 13-1 on aggregate in their previous four league visits to Newcastle, alarm bells rang early when Sandro Tonali weaved through on goal inside the opening 35 seconds. But Villa settled quickly after Emi Martínez produced his first big save of the match, before Buendia’s brilliance broke the deadlock.
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Despite missing key players through injury – including Boubacar Kamara and captain John McGinn – Villa have turned what looked like a gruelling week into six valuable points across Europe and the Premier League.
“I am so, so happy. The players were extraordinary,” Emery told the BBC. “We spoke about this match and the difficulties some teams have with their level here. It is the highest level we can face this season and the players respond fantastic.
“We can only help the players tactically. Out on the field they need to show the attitude and commitment to work to the game plan and they did it.
“Last week we lost and were so disappointed but we can be calm again and have confidence. We were comfortable in what we were doing.”
Content cannot be displayed without consentMartinez sends reminder with stunning Newcastle display
Villa inflicted Newcastle’s first home Premier League defeat since their 2–1 loss to Arsenal in late September 2025.
After keeping another clean sheet, this marked just the second time in Newcastle’s last 25 league matches at St. James’ Park that they failed to score.
Villa also shut out Fenerbahce last week and will now target another clean sheet on Thursday at home against Austrian side Salzburg.
Against Newcastle, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa returned to the heart of defence, with Martinez also restored to the starting XI.
The Argentina number one was superb in goal, making two top saves and repeatedly relieving pressure on his defence.
After the match, Martinez posted pictures from the victory on social media with the caption: “Always fully committed! Enjoy the process!”
Coming in and out of the side due to injuries, some Villa fans had been criticising Martinez’s commitment, especially after a turbulent summer window where he nearly left the club.
Despite not being at his best in some matches this term, Martinez’s sensational performance against Newcastle served as a reminder to his doubters.
Villa have now kept 16 Premier League clean sheets against Newcastle – only Everton (25) have seen them record more.
Emi Buendia opened the scoring against Newcastle United(Image: Richard Lee/Shutterstock)
Buendia’s magical season continues
Martinez’s compatriot Buendia is enjoying the best season of his career.
Now thriving consistently at top-flight level, the 29-year-old is making a major impact for Villa this term.
Even those who long believed in Buendia’s ability could hardly have predicted this level of output.
With 11 goal contributions across all competitions already this season, it’s not only the importance of his involvements that stands out – but also the sheer quality of his decisive moments.
“His commitment is massive. He is always hungry to get his best,” Emery said of his playmaker after full-time. “He has wishes of me to be proud of him. I am.
“I got a plan with him in pre-season, and he is doing more than I planned with him.”
Villa fans excited for Tammy’s return
Tammy Abraham hasn’t even been officially confirmed as a new Villa signing yet, but that didn’t stop supporters from chanting his name on Sunday.
Expected to complete his £18 million move from Besiktas shortly, Abraham is set to return to the club he helped guide back to the Premier League in 2019 via the Championship play-offs.
During the first half of Villa’s win at St. James’ Park, chants of “Ohh Tammy Tammy, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy Abraham” rang out from the away end.
Emery was also asked about Abraham’s return in his post-match press conference, but the Villa boss kept his cards close to his chest and declined to comment in detail.
“Hopefully he can help us in case he joins us,” Emery responded. “You know him better than me!”
Youri Tielemans suffered an injury in the win at Newcastle United(Image: Getty Images)
Midfield injury worries continue
The only blot on an otherwise perfect afternoon at Newcastle was yet another midfield injury for Villa.
This time, Youri Tielemans was forced off with 15 minutes remaining, replaced by Lamare Bogarde.
The Belgian midfielder suffered an ankle injury after falling awkwardly following a push from Lewis Miley – an incident that went unpunished by referee Jarred Gillett.
Villa now face a nervous wait as Tielemans undergoes assessment to determine the severity of the injury.
Speaking after the match, Emery confirmed that captain McGinn is expected to be sidelined for between one and two months.
Meanwhile, Kamara is already ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Claret & Blue verdict
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