BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa's win against Newcastle United in the Premier League

Aston Villa earned their second Premier League win of the season on Saturday night, beating Newcastle United 1-0 at St James’ Park.

It’s the first time Villa have won successive away league games since December 2025, having previously won just two of their 12 away games before the victory over Spurs ahead of the international break.

Johan Manzambi’s header was all that separated the sides, with Villa’s Swiss summer recruit heading in Joao Gomes’ cross in the 36th minute.

Here are the talking points from Villa’s win…

Manzambi hits the ground running

Manzambi has taken no time at all to adapt to the Premier League, a sign of his special talent. After recovering from a knee injury last month, he made a couple of substitute appearances against Nottingham Forest and Coventry City before starting each of the last four matches.

Having scored three goals in that run, including crucial strikes in away wins against Spurs and now Newcastle, he is already proving to be a difference-maker for Villa.

What’s important is that Villa are not relying solely on Manzambi for creativity. Gomes curled in the cross for his goal, while the likes of John McGinn, Nicolas Jackson, Emi Buendia, Alysson and Ibrahim Mbaye have all made contributions at the start of this season.

Tammy Abraham has chipped in with three goals already, while Brian Madjo is proving to be a problem for defences despite his young age. Ross Barkley also bagged a brace in last Wednesday’s 6-0 thrashing of Fenerbahce.

Back to Manzambi, and his recent performances – particularly his goal involvements – are making fans forget about Morgan Rogers, who left for a record fee for a British player in July. They are two different types of attacker, but both are capable of delivering key moments for a team.

Another difference is that Manzambi has taken no time at all to settle under Emery and in the English top flight, which is a huge plus following his £52 million move. His value is rising rapidly with every game.

In fact, since making his first start for Villa against Tottenham, only Erling Haaland (six) has been involved in more goals in all competitions among Premier League players than Manzambi (five).

“I’m very happy to score today, but the most important thing is the three points,” he said on Sky Sports. “This team is really good. I played against this team in the final [UEL] and it’s a very good team with a big coach, and I knew that was perfect for me.”

Asked about his injury, Manzambi said: “It wasn’t cramp, it was a kick, but it’s OK. I have a little bit of pain, but it’s OK now.”

Villa nail three new signings

As well as finding a sound replacement for Rogers – while spending less than half of the £117 million they received from Chelsea for him – replacing Ollie Watkins and Zion Suzuki were the other main challenges.

Suzuki kept his second clean sheet of the week, as well as his second in the league this season. He made one particularly impressive save against Newcastle, stretching to his left to palm Sven Botman’s effort wide of the far post.

Then there’s Nicolas Jackson at the top of the pitch. Although he didn’t score on Saturday night, his overall game was again encouraging. He linked up effectively with Manzambi, caused problems for the Newcastle backline and posed a threat in transition.

Senegalese compatriot Mbaye was electric off the bench. He already has a relationship with Jackson through their national team link-ups, but it’s the telepathy between Villa’s new striker and Manzambi that is even more exciting, given the importance of both players in the starting XI.

“He’s an amazing player. He’s still growing,” Jackson said about Manzambi on BBC MOTD. “Hopefully he can get better and better every game, score goals and assist me as well. Hopefully we work together and achieve many things together.

“He will go a long way and hopefully he gets no injuries. For sure, if he is OK and he is training hard, he will go a long way, with many more goals and assists – for me – to come.”

Speaking about Villa’s current position, Jackson said: “We are not where we want to be because we lost some points, but that is in the past. Forget this game as well, focus on the next. Go game by game and we will see where we go.”

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We need to talk about Lindelof…

Once it became apparent that Ezri Konsa was off to Arsenal, I wrote about how Victor Lindelof deserved the chance to have a run of games as his replacement.

A younger addition, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, could then emerge when he is ready, but the level Lindelof showed last season could not be ignored, whether he was operating in midfield or at centre-back.

Against Newcastle, he was again superb, consistently winning first contacts in the box, organising the defence and using the ball effectively from the back.

It was an excellent piece of business by Villa to recruit him on a free transfer, particularly after it took until deadline day for the Sweden international to find a new club.

How Lindelof has performed for Villa over the past year has exposed what a mistake it was for Manchester United to let him leave, let alone on a free transfer.

“Lindelof is a fantastic guy and professional player too,” Emery said in his post-match press conference. “He has experience and is playing consistently. This is a very good example. I believe that when we need Harwood-Bellis, he will play in the same way.

“Why? Because he has the qualities like Lindelof and he is a very good example for him. He needs to watch him every day in training and playing matches.”

Villa will have to manage their left-back issue

The blot on Villa’s win against Newcastle was, of course, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s hamstring injury, which will see him miss a period of time and likely a significant number of games.

Filling in for the injured Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri, Wan-Bissaka had been solid against Brentford, Fenerbahce and Newcastle.

Now that he is injured, Villa need Maatsen back as soon as possible. The good news is that he is due to return to training next week.

Tyrone Mings could still be used at left-back against Viking FK on Wednesday and even Manchester City on Saturday if Maatsen is not ready to feature at the weekend.

Emery will speak to the media on Tuesday ahead of the match against Viking FK and then again on Friday ahead of Saturday’s home game against Man City.