What Sir Alex Ferguson Said About Aston Villa After 5-1 Defeat vs Newcastle
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Aston Villa might be one of the best-performing English clubs over the past few years. Under Unai Emery, they have qualified for the Champions League on two occasions, while also ending a 30-year wait for a trophy by lifting the Europa League in May 2026.
Despite that, things haven’t always gone smoothly for the Villans under their Spanish coach. To kick off the 2026/27 Premier League season, they were thumped 4-0 away from home against Brighton. The dismal display was reminiscent of when they lost 5-1 to Newcastle United on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 campaign.
That was a hugely disappointing start to the season for everyone associated with the side from the Midlands – and positives appeared to be virtually non-existent. However, legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson thought otherwise and took viewers by surprise by singing Villa’s praises following their heavy defeat, which came across as bizarre analysis at the time.
The 83-year-old Scot, winner of 38 trophies during his glittering 26-year spell as Manchester United manager, told NBC Sports that Aston Villa were excellent during the game despite falling to a heavy defeat in the end against a strong Newcastle side. The retired manager said:
“To be honest with you, I watched Aston Villa vs Newcastle and I can’t believe the scoreline.
“Honestly, Aston Villa played fantastic football and just lost to bad goals. Newcastle are going to be very difficult to beat, in their own ground in particular, and their manager has done a great job there.
“It’s a surprising game, football. You can play teams off the pitch and not score – that’s what happened to Aston Villa.”
Nobody appeared to share Ferguson’s opinion about Villa at the time, but arguably the greatest manager in football history wasn’t afraid to voice his honest views. He’d watched the game closely and wasn’t fooled by the scoreline. Watch the clip below:
Some football fans even mocked Ferguson on social media for his eyebrow-raising comments at the time, but they’re certainly not laughing now. He might be in his 80s and retired for over 10 years, but the 11-time Premier League Manager of the Season clearly possessed a football brain that is unrivalled by the vast majority.
Aston Villa Have Shone Under Unai Emery Since
Aston Villa hadn’t appeared in the Champions League since the competition was rebranded in 1992. The last time the club sat at the table of Europe’s elite was when they took part in the European Cup, as it was called back then, during the 1981-82 season.
Remarkably, this last foray into the best continental competition on offer – before this campaign, of course – saw the English club lift the trophy following a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the final. Emery has since had fans enjoy more success in Europe, as they beat Freiburg 3-0 to lift the Europa League at the end of the 2025/26 season.
As a result, having also finished fourth in the Premier League, Villa will return to the Champions League for the second time under their Spanish head coach. Last time, they went all the way to the quarter-finals and were just one goal away from taking Paris Saint-Germain to extra-time at Villa Park on April 15.
There was no shame in losing to PSG, who went on to win the tournament that year, before defending their crown with another title in 2025/26. The two teams then met in the 2026 European Super Cup, with the French giants winning 2-1.
While many Villa fans may have feared the worst after that heavy defeat against Newcastle, Ferguson certainly had no such concerns about Emery’s side. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back after the humiliating loss to Brighton on the opening day of the 2026/27 season.