AVFC Official
Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle United
Fixtures Aston Villa Vs. Newcastle United - Sat, Feb 14th 2026, 17:45 Ten-man Aston Villa bowed out of the FA Cup following a 3-1 fourth-round defeat to Newcastle United. Tammy Abraham put Villa ahead with his first goal back in claret and blue, 2,471 days after his last in 2018/19, as he converted Douglas Luiz’s chipped ball into the box following a well-worked free-kick. Yet the tie’s key moment came in first-half injury time as Marco Bizot was given his marching orders having brought down Jacob Murphy near the halfway line following a swift Newcastle counter-attack. The hosts led at Villa Park until the 63 rd minute when Sandro Tonali’s deflected strike found the net, before the Italian duly drilled a low 25-yard effort into the bottom corner to put the Magpies ahead. Nick Woltemade subsequently added a third in the 88 th minute to see off a battling Villa and book Newcastle’s place in the fifth round. Lucas Digne returned to Unai Emery’s starting XI and wore the captain’s armband, as one of seven changes from Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey both made their first starts of the season, while Abraham, Bizot, Victor Lindelöf and Pau Torres were also recalled, as a full house came together in B6 for the club’s Heritage Game. Supporters donned retro shirts and enjoyed a host of celebrations to mark the 1990s-inspired theme, with a music, light and laser show inside the stadium ahead of kick-off alongside the pre-match flames and fireworks. Both sides set a high tempo from the off for the cup encounter, and it was Villa who opened the scoring in the 14 th minute courtesy of a clever free-kick routine. Rogers shaped to shoot from distance but, instead, Luiz quickly clipped a delightful ball into the box for Abraham to bring down on his chest and prod past Aaron Ramsdale. Barkley tested Ramsdale soon after before Bailey headed wide from Digne’s left-wing cross as Villa pushed for a second. Harvey Barnes found the side-netting at the other end following a neat one-two with William Osula. Luiz’s long-range strike skimmed the crossbar in the 38 th minute as half-time approached. But there was drama just before the break as Bizot was shown red having brought down a surging Murphy near the halfway line, with the Magpies catching Villa with a quick counter-attack after a corner broke down. Emi MartĂnez was introduced and the hosts stood firm as the second half got into gear, with United looking to make the most of their numerical advantage. Villa survived penalty appeals for a handball claim against Digne just after the hour mark but, from the subsequent free-kick, the ball broke for Tonali and his strike deflected off Luiz to wrong-foot MartĂnez. Boss Emery turned to Ollie Watkins and Emi BuendĂa as Villa looked for fresh energy, while Lindelöf got a vital touch to deflect substitute Anthony Gordon’s low strike narrowly wide. But it was not long before the visitors got in front as Villa half-cleared a ball into the box, Dan Burn laid off for Tonali and he drilled a low 25-yard effort into the bottom corner. The Villans pressed in search of a leveller to send the tie to extra-time, but it was Woltemade who capitalised on a defensive mix-up to add a third for Newcastle, ensuring they progressed in the eighth meeting between the two clubs in the world’s oldest domestic cup competition. Upcoming Fixtures Aston Villa Vs. Leeds United - Sun, Mar 3rd 2026, 14:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers Vs. Aston Villa - Sun, Mar 3rd 2026, 14:15 Aston Villa Vs. Chelsea - Sat, Apr 4th 2026, 14:00
2026-02-14 19:47:16.000Z