Aston Villa raised their Champions League qualification hoop thanks to a 3-0 win over related Southampton, despite Aaron Ramsdale that saved two penalties.
Two substitutes turned the game upside down, with Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen on the Score magazine in St Mary's Stadium.
Villa dominated in the first half, but Southampton had the clearest opening, with Emiliano Martinez the efforts of Cameron Archer away from a tight corner.
Watkins scored the opener in the 73rd minute and hit a header at the Near Post just after he won a penalty that Marco Asensio saw saved by Ramsdale.
Malen doubled Villa's lead six minutes later and hit a solid finish in the bottom corner, but there was still a gift for the visitors in stopping time.
John McGinn – another replacement – Villa won a second spot – kick, in which Ramsdale again kept Asensio out of 12 yards, only for the Scotland International to score on the rebound.
Villa goes to the fifth in the Premier League, only one point behind Manchester City and three behind Nottingham Forest, while Southampton remains 20th.
Four competition profits in a row pic.twitter.com/ke7xyazrsi
– Aston Villa (@AVFCofficial) April 12, 2025
Data debrief: Emery's changes turn the tide
Villas 3-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the Champions League took a toll and lent to a somewhat old first half on the south coast.
However, when Emery rolled the dice in the second half, it paid off. Villa has now scored nine goals this season via replacements in the Premier League, with four of those strikes in their last three games.
Indeed, it is the second most sub -goals of Villa during a single campaign in the competition, after last season (11).
In the meantime, Asensio picked up an unwanted record after his off-day from the place. He is the fourth player who misses two penalties in a Premier League match and the first since Saido Berahino vs Watford in April 2016.
For the first time since a run of five in March-April 2023, Villa has won four consecutive Premier League matches, while they have won three consecutive road races without having the competitions for the first time since November 2020.