Aston Villa thrashed Newcastle 4-1 to win a fifth successive Premier League game and boost their hopes of returning to the Champions League next season.
Fresh from suffering the heartbreak of losing in the quarter-finals of Europe's top-tier competition despite a stirring fightback to beat PSG on Tuesday night, Unai Emery's side blew Newcastle away in the second half at Villa Park.
Fabian Schar had earlier cancelled out Ollie Watkins' first-minute goal to leave the match level at the break, but Villa's superior squad depth proved decisive in the second period as their substitutions helped overpower a tiring Newcastle midfield to score three goals in 11 minutes just after the hour mark.
A sweeping move from back to front first ended with Ian Maatsen deservedly putting the home side back in front before an unfortunate ricochet saw Dan Burn divert the ball into his own net to provide some breathing space.
Moments later substitute Amadou Onana curled home a wonderful strike to make sure Villa's pursuit of a top-five finish continued unabated.
Victory extends their unbeaten home run to 16 matches in all competitions and leaves Emery's team sixth and just two points behind third-placed Newcastle with five matches remaining.
They continue a daunting run-in with a trip to fourth-placed Manchester City on Tuesday, while the Magpies have a week to recover before hosting all-but relegated Ipswich.
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