Aston Villa boosted their Champions League qualification hopes thanks to a 3-0 win over already-relegated Southampton, despite Aaron Ramsdale saving two penalties.

Two substitutes flipped the game on its head, with Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen getting on the scoresheet at St Mary's Stadium.

Villa dominated in the first half, but Southampton had the clearest opening, with Emiliano Martinez getting down to claw Cameron Archer's effort away from a tight angle.

Watkins scored the opener in the 73rd minute, flicking a header in at the near post moments after he had won a penalty that Marco Asensio saw saved by Ramsdale.

Malen doubled Villa's lead six minutes later, striking a firm finish into the bottom corner, but there was another gift to come for the visitors in stoppage time.

John McGinn - another substitute - won Villa a second spot-kick, with Ramsdale again keeping out Asensio from 12 yards, only for the Scotland international to score on the rebound.

Villa move up to fifth in the Premier League, just one point behind Manchester City and three behind Nottingham Forest, while Southampton remain 20th.

FOUR LEAGUE WINS IN A ROW pic.twitter.com/ke7XYAzrSi

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 12, 2025

Data Debrief: Emery's changes turn the tide

Villa's 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals took a toll, lending to a somewhat stale first half on the south coast.

However, when Emery rolled the dice in the second half, it paid off. Villa have now scored nine goals via substitutes in the Premier League this season, with four of those strikes coming in their last three games.

Indeed, it is Villa's second-most sub goals across a single campaign in the competition, after last season (11). 

Asensio, meanwhile, picked up an unwanted record after his off-day from the spot. He is the fourth player to miss two penalties in a Premier League game and the first since Saido Berahino vs Watford in April 2016.

Villa have won four consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of five in March-April 2023, while they have won three successive away matches without conceding in the competitions for the first time since November 2020.