‘Extraordinary’ Villa claim first win at Newcastle since infamous 2005 trip

Steven Taylor was sent off for handball before Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were sent off for fighting each other. Juan Pablo Angel scored and Gareth Barry converted two penalties to give the visitors a 3-0 win.

That famous April 2005 meeting It was the last time Aston Villa won a Premier League match at Newcastle. That is, before Sunday.

That was 17 tries ago. Both clubs have since been relegated to and from the Championship and both are seeking European glory this term.

Newcastle sit seventh in the league stage of the Champions League. Villa have secured their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

However, Villa’s 2-0 victory this time, having lost their last three games at St James’ Park by an aggregate score of 12-1, underlined the progress made under boss Unai Emery.

The result leaves Villa, who have bounced back from last Sunday’s defeat against Everton by adding Thursday’s Europa League victory, third in the table and firmly in the title race, just four points behind leaders Arsenal.

And Emery insisted his players gave a “complete” performance.

“The players were outstanding,” the Spaniard told BBC Match of the Day.

“We talked about this game and the difficulties some teams have at their level. “This is the highest level we’ve faced this season and the players are responding wonderfully.

“We can only help the players tactically. They have to show the attitude and determination on the field in line with the game plan and they did that.

“We lost last week and were very disappointed, but we can be calm and confident again. We were comfortable with what we were doing.”