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This video can not be played Tonali inspires Newcastle to win over ten-man Aston Villa At a glance Tammy Abraham opens the scoring in controversial circumstances with no VAR in operation for the fourth round Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot is sent off after taking down Jacob Murphy before half-time Sandro Tonali scores a double and Nick Woltemade adds a third as Newcastle fight back impressively Eddie Howe's men reach last 16 for the second successive season PLAYER RATINGS Sandro Tonali scored twice as Newcastle United overcame a series of controversial decisions from the officials to knock 10-man Aston Villa out of the FA Cup. This was a fourth-round tie packed with drama, incident and goals at Villa Park as Newcastle channelled their frustration to turn the game on its head in impressive fashion in the second half. Although Aston Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot was red-carded just before half-time, the visitors had been angered by a series of dubious calls from referee Chris Kavanagh and his officials, with the video assistant referee (VAR) not in operation for the competition's fourth round. Villa striker Tammy Abraham was not flagged offside when collecting a Douglas Luiz free-kick and putting the hosts ahead in the 14th minute. Kavanagh later awarded a free-kick outside the box rather than a penalty after Lucas Digne blocked Kieran Trippier's cross with his hand inside the area. The referee also showed Villa's French left-back a yellow card for a crunching late challenge on Jacob Murphy in the first half, which left the Newcastle forward with cuts on his shins. But the visitors showed their powers of recovery to fight back for an impressive success. It was from the free-kick following the Digne handball incident that Newcastle equalised in the 63rd minute. Substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could only parry Trippier's delivery into the path of Tonali, whose strike from outside the box took a wicked deflection before nestling into the net. It was the Italian midfielder's first goal since May, but he quickly doubled his tally for the campaign with a superb 76th-minute strike after he let fly with an unstoppable effort from distance. There was still time for Nick Woltemade to add a third - ending a 14-match goal drought on his 24th birthday - from close range to send the 6, 500 travelling supporters into raptures. They had earlier vented their fury towards the officials after their side - who won the last of their six FA Cups in 1955 - fell behind in controversial circumstances. Abraham was offside when Luiz clipped a free-kick into the box, but the linesman's flag stayed down as the striker chested the ball down and hooked it into the net for his first goal since rejoining the club from Besiktas last month. But there were certainly no complaints from the visitors when Bizot was sent off following a moment of madness from the goalkeeper in first-half added time. Trippier sent Murphy through with a searching ball over the top after Villa forward Leon Bailey had given the ball away, with his team-mates still high up the pitch from an earlier corner. Dutchman Bizot rushed off his line and took Murphy out with a wild high challenge just inside Villa's half and with a couple of Newcastle players in support and one home player, it left Kavanagh with little option but to send him off. Eddie Howe's side made their extra man count to book their place in the fifth round at the expense of the seven-time winners. 'The officials looked petrified' - was Villa Park chaos advert for VAR? Guimaraes set to be out for two months with injury This video can not be played 'What is he doing? ' - Villa keeper Bizot shown a straight red before half time Was it better or worse being at a game with no VAR? Let us know Have your say on Aston Villa's performance What did you make of Newcastle's display? Sandro Tonali joined Newcastle United from AC Milan in 2023 Newcastle had been here before. The visitors also had an extra man for a large period after Villa went down to 10 men on the opening day of the Premier League season at Villa Park. Howe's men could not find a way through that afternoon but, this time, they made that advantage count thanks in no small part to Tonali. The Italian's recent performances have come under scrutiny, but this was a return to goalscoring form when Newcastle needed it most in the absence of injured captain and talisman Bruno Guimaraes, who has been ruled out for two months. They have lost plenty of games with the Brazilian in the middle of the park, but there is a reason why this side have not won any of the 10 league games he has not featured in since making his debut in February, 2022. Guimaraes has so often dragged his team level or popped up with a winning goal, but this was a night where Tonali took on that mantle in his absence. By the time German forward Woltemade added a much-needed third goal, buoyant Newcastle supporters were singing about the prospect of returning to Wembley in a few months time. Having ended their 70-year wait for silverware by winning the Carabao Cup at that very stadium last season, they are daring to dream again. History will give them hope too. In five of the previous six seasons - dating back to 1895 - Villa and Newcastle have met in the FA Cup, one of them has reached the final. This video can not be played Newcastle 'hard done by' as offside Abraham goal gives Villa lead Unai Emery could not have made himself clearer. With 1957 being the last time they won the competition, the Villa manager was well aware of how "important" the FA Cup was to the club's supporters, but stressed "we have a clear order in our priorities". "As I always said, the Premier League is the most important competition, " he wrote in his programme notes before the Newcastle defeat. Perhaps, then, it was not a surprise Emery made seven changes to his side for this game - one more than Newcastle - and handed Ross Barkley and Bailey - recalled from his loan at Roma - their first starts of the season. Yet his much-changed side were well-placed to progress until Bizot's rush of blood, and Emery will still take positives from aspects of this display. Not least Abraham's first goal since his return. Although he was offside, his strike followed a clever set-piece routine after Morgan Rogers shaped up to shoot only for Luiz to clip the ball into the box for Abraham to chest down and fire into the net. How Emery will hope it is the first of many to ease the burden on fellow centre-forward Ollie Watkins. Villa may have exited the FA Cup, but Emery's team can still end their 30-year wait for a major trophy in the Europa League and are third in the Premier League, with a place in next season's Champions League the target. It is all set up to be a season to remember. Aston Villa host Leeds United at Villa Park on Saturday, 21 February (15: 00 GMT) before making the trip to Molineux to take on Wolves on Friday, 27 February (20: 00 GMT). Newcastle travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday, 18 February (17: 45 GMT), before playing Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday, 21 February (20: 00 GMT). After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Eddie Howe Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Eddie Howe Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 FA Cup All competitions All competitions All competitions Aston Villa have knocked Newcastle out four times from the FA Cup (1894-95, 1896-97, 1904-05, 2000-01), losing the other two ties in the 1923-24 final and third round in 1951-52. In five of the previous six seasons Aston Villa and Newcastle have met in the FA Cup, either Villa (1895, 1897, 1905, 1924) or Newcastle (1905, 1924, 1952) have reached the final that year, with two of those seasons seeing the sides meet in the final (1904-05 and 1923-24). Aston Villa knocked out Spurs in the FA Cup fourth round last season but haven’t gone beyond this stage in consecutive seasons since doing so between 2008-09 and 2010-11. Newcastle United have won six of their last 11 away games in the FA Cup (D2 L3), having gone 15 without a win on the road beforehand. The Magpies have lost 10 of their last 13 away from home at Premier League opponents, however (W2 D1), failing to score in eight of their last nine. Morgan Rogers has been involved in four goals in five FA Cup starts for Aston Villa (3 goals, 1 assist), scoring in their third round win over Spurs this season, while he scored and assisted against Spurs in last season’s fourth round. Foul by Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United). First Half begins. Lineups are announced and players are warming up. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.