Aston Villa justified their pursuit of Johan Manzambi as the 21-year-old Switzerland midfielder headed the decisive goal in a 1-0 Premier League victory against Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The tall, quick, tricky, clever and perfectly balanced 21-year-old Switzerland attacking midfielder looked worth every penny of the record £50m plus fee Villa ended up paying and he duly delighted in showing Tynesiders what they missed. In the league at least, the Spaniard’s latest rebuild has been slow to click cleanly into place, those regulations have turned Unai Emery into a master of reinvention at Aston Villa but. That just might be changing, on the evidence of their fourth win in five games in all competitions. Emery, who changed his mind about taking charge of Newcastle before Eddie Howe took the job, said: “It was a tough match but it was very important to win after our poor start. We knew it would be challenging,” he said. “That’s not an excuse, we have to learn fast.”, but Newcastle’s manager was also sanguine. “Big names left the club in the summer so for sure. There has always been a certain edge between these teams and Jarred Gillett issued two first-half yellow cards in quick succession. Equalling an unwanted record set in 1998-99, it was all too easy to see why Newcastle have now gone 13 Premier League home games without a clean sheet. After lengthy deliberation, it was decided the original decision was correct and Botman’s yellow did not require upgrading to a red, a video assistant referee check ensued but. Seemingly electrically powered, exerted the best sort of revenge on the Brazilian when he gave Emery’s side the lead, the elegantly impressive Manzambi. Jaissle’s frustration surfaced itself as he exchanged words with Emery after an altercation involving Alysson and Hornicek and subsequently looked suitably downcast as his side were booed off at half-time. Those home fans were not relishing the sight of Villa’s forward repeatedly accelerating behind the sometimes dangerously high home backline. The Villa substitute Ross Barkley almost showed Jaissle’s players how to do it when he would have scored with his first touch had Hornicek not dived smartly to turn his blistering shot around a post.
Manzambi, signed for a fee exceeding £50m after Villa hijacked his proposed move from Freiburg, broke the deadlock in the 36th minute by meeting João Gomes’s cross with a strong header after ghosting away from Malick Thiaw.
The fixture brought together two clubs heavily influenced by spending regulations overseen by Premier League CEO Richard Masters, who watched from the directors’ box.
Matthias Jaissle’s Newcastle side were seeking a response following a 4-1 defeat at Coventry, while Unai Emery’s Villa aimed to build upon their inconsistent start to the domestic campaign. While Villa kicked off having won only once in the league this season, Newcastle sought redemption after last Monday night’s chastening 4-1 defeat at Coventry.
Emery acknowledged the significance of the result, noting that a tough match yielded a vital victory following their sluggish opening run, while Jaissle expressed frustration over his young team’s decision-making. Jaissle, whose team are level on points with Villa but faces an appreciably tougher reconstruction project, was left to reflect on his “frustration” and blamed his young team’s decision making.
The physical nature of the contest produced quick bookings for Joelinton and Sven Botman, the latter avoiding a red card after a VAR review for a high challenge on Nicolas Jackson.
Villa nearly doubled their advantage when Emiliano Buendía struck the post, the ball rebounding off Lukas Hornicek before Lewis Hall cleared.
Zion Suzuki produced a sharp flying save at the start of the second period to deny Botman, registering Newcastle’s only shot on target in the match.
Despite sending Dan Burn on as a late forward, Newcastle could not find an equalizer as Emery secured a historic milestone.
- Newcastle United are now without a home clean sheet in each of their last 16 games in all competitions; it’s the longest run in their history.
- Yoane Wissa’s seven shots on goal with none on target is the most by a player in a Premier League game since Newcastle teammate Harvey Barnes against Brentford in April 2025 (also 7).
- Unai Emery has earned his 100th Premier League win as a manager, doing so in his 197th game in the competition (D44 L53), with only eight managers achieving the milestone in fewer games.
