**Aston Villa Strengthen Top-Five Push with Comfortable Win Over Relegated Southampton**
Aston Villa continued their impressive run of form and tightened their grip on a top-five Premier League finish with a commanding 3-0 victory over already-relegated Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium. Unai Emery’s side made it five wins from their last six matches, as second-half substitutes Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen made an immediate impact to seal a crucial three points.
The turning point came after the hour mark, when Emery introduced Watkins and Malen to inject fresh energy into a Villa side that had struggled to convert their dominance into goals. Within 15 minutes of their arrival, both had found the net, flipping the game firmly in Villa’s favour after Marco Asensio had earlier seen a penalty saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
Watkins first won a penalty himself after drawing a foul from Jan Bednarek, though Asensio’s subsequent effort from the spot was denied. Just moments later, Watkins latched onto a long ball from Youri Tielemans and poked it past Ramsdale to break the deadlock. Malen followed that up with a cool finish of his own, finding space in a passive Saints defence to double Villa’s advantage and silence the home crowd — many of whom were already heading for the exits before full-time.
There was still time for more drama in stoppage time when John McGinn was brought down in the box. Asensio stepped up again, only to be denied once more by Ramsdale. Fortunately for Villa, McGinn was quickest to react, slotting home the rebound to cap off a dominant display.
Villa’s latest win lifts them into fifth place with six games left to play. They now sit just one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City and three adrift of Nottingham Forest in third, keeping their Champions League hopes alive.
As for Southampton, their fate was sealed with last weekend’s defeat to Tottenham, and their only remaining target is to avoid finishing with the lowest-ever Premier League points tally — a record currently held by Derby County with 11. Despite flashes of early promise, including chances for Cameron Archer and Paul Onuachu, the Saints ultimately faded and failed to contain a vibrant Villa attack in the second half.
With pressure off but pride still at stake, Southampton will need to show more resilience in their remaining fixtures if they are to avoid setting an unwanted record in English football history.
