On 30 January, one of the matches of the 22nd round of the English football championship took place. Aston Villa (England) and Newcastle (England) met.
English Championship, 22nd round
AstonVilla (England) - Newcastle (England) - 1:3 ( 0:2)
Goals: O. Watkins (71) - Cher (32), Cher (36), Alex Moreno (52)
Warnings: Boubacar Camara (39), Douglas Luis (72), McGinn (77).
Aston Villa faced Newcastle in a tense Premier League match at Villa Park. Both teams were determined to win, but in the end it was Newcastle who won 3-1. The first half started in favour of Newcastle, who managed to take the lead. In the 32nd minute, Newcastle's Fabian Schar scored the first goal of the match, throwing his team into jubilation. Just four minutes later, Char proved his skills again and scored to double Newcastle's lead. As Aston Villa tried to get back into the game, they suffered another setback as Ben Kamara received a yellow card in the 39th minute. Newcastle capitalised on their advantage and made a strategic substitution in the 43rd minute, bringing on Alexandre Isac in place of Miguel Almiron. The second half started with Aston Villa desperately trying to turn the tide of the match in their favour. Their efforts bore fruit in the 52nd minute when Newcastle had a misfortune. Aston Villa's Aidan Moreno's shot bounced off a Newcastle player and into the net for an own goal. "Aston Villa" hoped to further narrow the gap in the score and in the 62nd minute introduced Moussa Diaby into the game, replacing Leon Bailey.
A flurry of substitutions followed, with Yuri Tielemans and Boubacari Kamara replacing Nicolo Zaniolo and Jacob Ramsey respectively. In the 71st minute, Aston Villa finally found the breakthrough they had been looking for for so long. Ollie Watkins scored a superb goal, giving the home side a glimmer of hope. However, the joy was short-lived as Douglas Luiz received a yellow card in the 72nd minute, and in the 73rd minute Aston Villa's hopes of equalising were cut short when the goal was cancelled due to offside. In the 75th minute, the team made one last substitution, replacing Liam Miley with Valentino Livramento in an attempt to boost their attacking options. As time wore on, tension mounted, leading to yellow cards for Aston Villa's John McGinn and Newcastle's Andrew Gordon in the 77th and 90th minutes respectively. Nicolo Zaniolo also received a yellow card for Aston Villa in the final minutes of the game. At the end of the match, Newcastle claimed a 3-1 victory. The first two goals were the deciding factor and Aston Villa suffered a heavy defeat at home. Both teams showed their skill and determination throughout the game, providing an entertaining spectacle for the fans at Villa Park.
The next round of matches await the rivals: Sheffield United - Aston Villa, Newcastle - Luton Town.
| Aston Villa | Newcastle | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Kicks to the goal | 5 |
| 11 | Kicks | 14 |
| 2 | Blocked shots | 5 |
| 9 | Penalty kicks | 13 |
| 2 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 1 |
| 13 | Offences | 12 |
| 7 | Corner | 7 |
| 2 | Offsides | 4 |
| 61% | Ball possession | 39% |
| 4 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 4 |
| 550 | Total assists | 351 |
| 482 | Accurate assists | 279 |
| 88% | Accuracy of passes | 79% |