Updated / Sunday, 25 Jan 2026 16:18
Emi Buendia's sweet strike set **Aston Villa** on their way to a hard-fought 2-0 Premier League win at **Newcastle** as they maintained their pursuit of the top two.
The Argentina international’s sumptuous finish and Ollie Watkins’ late header secured victory at St James’ Park – a first on Tyneside since 2005 – which owed much to two fine first-half saves by Emi Martinez from Sandro Tonali and Lewis Miley as Eddie Howe’s men came up short.
Villa were good value for the points on an afternoon when they were slick going forward and dogged in defence, but the Magpies were guilty of failing to make the most of the possession they had, particularly after the break.
The absence of skipper Bruno Guimaraes through injury left Howe's side needing to break new ground – they had won none of the eight league games they had played without the Brazilian since his arrival in January 2022 – although Villa too were missing key men, in particular Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn.
Estevao made the difference for Chelsea
Estevao opened the scoring and added an assist as **Chelsea** secured a 3-1 victory over 10-man **Crystal Palace** and a first league away win under Liam Rosenior.
The 18-year-old Brazilian took advantage of an Eagles error to break the deadlock in the 34th minute and then teed up Joao Pedro after the restart.
Enzo Fernandez added a goal from the penalty spot just after the hour, with Palace going down to 10 men when Adam Wharton was shown a second yellow card.
Chris Richards nodded home an 88th-minute consolation for the Eagles, whose winless streak has now extended to 11 games across all competitions.