Newcastle United 3-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa fell to defeat in the Premier League on Boxing Day, losing 3-0 to an in-form Newcastle United outfit.

Being made to play close to an hour with 10 players, following Jhon Durán’s first-half dismissal, Unai Emery’s side fell behind inside the opening 80 seconds, courtesy of Anthony Gordon’s curling effort.

Alexander Isak’s goal after the break gave Newcastle breathing space as Newcastle made the extra body on the field count, before Joelinton’s stoppage-time strike completed the scoring to ensure the Villans left Tyneside empty handed, against a team which has now won their last four in all competitions. 

It was the hosts who started the stronger and, buoyed by a raucous home crowd in the north east, they had the lead within two minutes. 

After Sandro Tonali dispossessed Boubacar Kamara in the middle of the park, Joelinton drove forward with the ball and fed Gordon, who cut inside and bent a fine effort into the far corner beyond the dive of Emi Martínez. 

The Magpies were well on top to begin with, but Villa grew into the first period as it wore on, enjoying more of the ball inside Newcastle’s half of the field. 

Martin Dúbravka was called into the action as the midway point of the half approached, when Lucas Digne stepped up and swung a free-kick goalwards 25 yards out. The Newcastle stopper was equal to it. 

At the other end, Martínez needed to be alert to get down and hold Joelinton’s glancing header, as Gordon looked to return the Brazilian’s earlier favour, before tipping Fabian Schär’s free-kick wide just after the half-hour. 

But moments later came the turning point of the encounter, as Durán was given his marching orders. The Colombian appeared to lose his footing under a challenge from Schär, with the referee adjudging the Villa frontman to have stamped on the Swiss defender. 

With a player extra, Eddie Howe’s side regained their rhythm, and looked for a second, to take a two-goal lead into the interval. Bruno Guimarães won the ball back high up the field and fed Sandro Tonali, with Martínez at full stretch to brilliantly deny the Italian’s steered effort. The whistle sounded to bring the half to a close, with the hosts a goal to the good. 

Emery introduced Ollie Watkins at the break, as his side looked to force their way back into the game, but it was the hosts who began the second period as they ended the first. 

More space on the field meant Isak was seeing more of the ball in more threatening areas. Within 10 minutes of the restart, he had turned neatly inside the box, but his tame strike couldn’t find a way past Martínez. 

And just before the hour, it was the Swede who doubled Newcastle’s advantage from close range. Guimarães’ line-breaking pass released Jacob Murphy in behind, who squared for Isak to tap home his 12th goal of the season. 

Villa were being made to soak up a storm from Howe’s men in the north east, and things could have got even worse minutes later, when the lively Guimarães won the ball back inside Martínez’s penalty area. Amadou Onana produced a heroic block from his shot, before Murphy hammered the rebound against the crossbar. 

The 10 players of Villa continued to battle away, looking to cut the deficit in two as part of their attempts to take something from the game. Digne beat Newcastle’s offside trap and looked to pull the ball back across, and Schär’s block inadvertently cannoned just a few feet wide of the near post. 

The hosts thought they had snatched a third in the final 10 minutes, as Ezri Konsa’s attempted clearance ricocheted back off Guimarães and in, though a short VAR check revealed the ball had struck the midfielder’s arm, and the goal was chalked off. 

However there would still be time for the Toon to wrap up their victory in stoppage time, as Joelinton strode forward, cut inside and bent an unstoppable effort into the far corner to consign Emery’s men to defeat.