Villa win five in a row for the first time since 1998 as Emery effect continues

Aston Villa beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Villa Park on 15 April to win five Premier League games in a row for the first time since 1998.

The victory continued a remarkable run under head coach Unai Emery, who arrived at the club in November and has transformed its season.

From the bottom half to Europe

Villa started the 2022/23 season badly. Summer signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos both suffered long injuries early in the campaign, and the team won only one of its first six games. Steven Gerrard was sacked in October after two wins in eleven matches, with Villa 17th in the table.

On 24 October the club appointed Emery, paying a reported €6 million buyout fee to Villarreal, although work permit formalities meant his appointment did not take effect until 1 November. He won his first match in charge on 6 November, beating Manchester United 3-1, Villa's first home Premier League win over United since August 1995.

Since then, Villa have climbed the table and are now in contention for a place in European competition, which the club has not played in since the 2010/11 season.

Records falling

Emery's time in charge has seen a string of club records broken. Striker Ollie Watkins set a new Premier League-era club record by scoring in five consecutive games, and a record for scoring in six consecutive Premier League away matches.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who returned from winning the World Cup with Argentina, kept five clean sheets after the league restarted following the tournament, taking him to a club record of 34 clean sheets in his first 100 Premier League games for Villa.

The Emery effect

Emery, a four-time Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villarreal, has brought organisation and belief to a squad that had been struggling.

The Newcastle win keeps Villa pushing for a European place with a handful of games left, and earned Emery further praise for the transformation he has overseen.

What comes next

With the season entering its final weeks, Villa's run has raised hopes of a first European campaign in more than a decade. Qualification would mark a remarkable turnaround for a club that was close to the relegation places when Emery arrived.

For supporters, the run has brought back memories of better days, and confidence that the club is heading in the right direction under its Spanish head coach.

Gerrard, the former Liverpool and England captain, had been appointed head coach in November 2021, but results had fallen away badly by the time he left.