Newcastle United bounced back from four consecutive Premier League defeats to beat Aston Villa 3-1, largely thanks to a first-half brace from Fabian Schar.

The Newcastle centre-back produced a first-time finish from Kieran Trippier's corner in the 32nd minute, before he quickly added a second to put the Magpies in complete control.

Villa's miserable evening took another turn for the worst when Alex Moreno diverted the ball into his own net to leave his side with an insurmountable task.

Ollie Watkins pulled a goal back in the 71st minute to give the home faithful something to cheer, but the Villa forward was left frustrated when he had a goal chalked off just moments later.

Ultimately, the Villans could not find a way back into the contest, ensuring that they fell to their first home league defeat since losing to Arsenal in February 2023.

Following a cagey opening 20 minutes, Anthony Gordon was presented with the first chance of the contest, but the forward was unable to find a way past the resolute Emiliano Martinez.

The Villa goalkeeper was less than convincing in the 29th minute when he parried Jacob Murphy's effort into the path of Sean Longstaff, who saw his rebound blocked.

Undeterred, the Magpies continued to push forward, with Gordon cutting inside before seeing his fierce strike deflect over the bar.

From the subsequent corner, Schar guided the ball into the bottom corner after meeting Trippier's out-swinging delivery.

Less than four minutes later, the centre-back was celebrating his second goal of the evening after he pounced on a rebound from Gordon's initial shot to send the ball into the awaiting net.

After carrying significant momentum into the half-time break, Eddie Howe's side made a quick start to the second period, adding a third goal to their tally within seven minutes of the restart.

Moreno did his utmost to stop Murphy from tapping home from Miguel Almiron's cross, but the Villa full-back could only divert the ball into his own net.

While Newcastle appeared to be in complete control, the hosts attempted to mount a late fightback through their star striker Watkins.

The England international guided the ball home from Leon Bailey's inch-perfect cross to register his 50th Premier League goal.

Just moments later, Watkins thought that he had netted his 51st top-flight goal, only for his neat finish to be ruled out for an offside infringement.

As Villa threw caution to the wind, Newcastle had the chance to exploit the space left behind, but Longstaff was unable to beat Martinez in a one-on-one situation.

His miss mattered very little, as the Magpies saw out the remainder of the contest to clinch their first away league win since September.

The victory moves Newcastle into seventh position, while Unai Emery's side remain in fourth place despite experiencing a rare disappointing outing at Villa Park. body check tags ::