Aston Villa beat Newcastle as Manzambi strikes
Aston Villa secured a 1-0 victory against Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday after Johan Manzambi scored the only goal of the game in the first half. The 21-year-old Switzerland attacking midfielder, who had been targeted by Newcastle before completing a record switch of more than £50m from Freiburg in the summer, headed home unmarked in the 36th minute following a cross from João Gomes.
The result marked Unai Emery's 100th Premier League victory and inflicted another setback on Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle, whose team had entered the contest on the back of a 4-1 loss at Coventry. Villa came close to doubling their advantage before the break when Emiliano Buendía struck the post, while Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki preserved the lead in the second half by parrying a powerful shot from Sven Botman.
Newcastle pushed forward late on as Jaissle brought on Dan Burn to play as an auxiliary striker, but Villa substitute Ross Barkley also tested Lukas Hornicek with a low effort that was turned around the post. The defeat means Newcastle have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 consecutive Premier League home fixtures, equalling a club top-flight record set during the 1998-99 campaign.
- Johan Manzambi arrived at Aston Villa carrying a knee injury and had to wait until mid-September 2026 to make his first appearance after completing his transfer from Freiburg.
- Johan Manzambi recorded three goals and two assists for Switzerland in 200 minutes at the 2026 World Cup, including two goals in 19 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
