BIRMINGHAM, England :Aston Villa thumped top-five rivals Newcastle United 4-1 at Villa Park to keep themselves in the thick of the race for Champions League qualification on Saturday. Five days after being knocked out of Europe's top club competition by Paris St Germain in a thriller, Villa returned to Premier League action in emphatic fashion with the recalled Ollie Watkins opening the scoring inside the first minute. Fabian Schar equalised for third-placed Newcastle with a header before