Manzambi gives Aston Villa Emery’s 100th Premier League win

Aston Villa beat Newcastle United 1-0 at St James’ Park, with Johan Manzambi’s first-half header proving decisive. The Premier League victory was Unai Emery’s 100th in the competition. It also extended Aston Villa’s unbeaten run on Tyneside to five matches.

Newcastle increased the pressure after the interval and created chances, but could not find the accuracy to level the score. Emery praised Villa’s defensive work in protecting the lead and Zion Suzuki’s contribution against crosses and set-pieces. “We defended very well in both halves,” he said, adding that his team had also found opportunities in transition to score a second.

In the Premier League, Newcastle are 11th with 8 points and Aston Villa are 12th with 8 points, so there is no points gap between them.

Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle said his side had responded after conceding but needed to make better attacking decisions. “In the second half, our lads were really aggressive. We won the duels, but we were not smart enough with our final decisions in the opposition box,” he said. Newcastle, he added, needed to pose more of a threat when in possession in the final third.

Emery said the importance of the fixture had been stressed throughout the preparations. “We focused strongly on this match in our meetings beforehand. Even this morning, just before the game, everybody knew how important it was,” he said. He also described the Premier League as the priority for achieving the season’s objectives, after a draw against Brentford the previous week and a Champions League win on the Wednesday before the match. The result, he said, was important in restoring confidence after a difficult start to the season.

The goalscorer said he had joined Aston Villa because of the quality of the team and its coach. Emery was pleased with his impact, praising his skills, intelligence and physicality, as well as the latest goal. Jackson called him an exceptional player and said he hoped to see him keep improving, scoring and assisting him. Jackson also said he had escaped a serious injury after a challenge by Newcastle’s Sven Botman, who was shown a yellow card. “I nearly broke my leg, but that’s part of football. The most important thing is that we win, and we did, so I’m OK,” he said.