Newcastle United romped to a commanding 3-0 victory at home to an Aston Villa side that played with ten men for an hour.
For the second game in a row, the Magpies broke the deadlock inside the opening two minutes. Anthony Gordon let rip from the top left-hand corner of Villa’s box and left Emi Martinez – declared by FIFA as the best goalkeeper in the world – clasping fistfuls of empty air as the ball sailed into the top corner.
Newcastle, emboldened not only by Gordon’s screamer but also three consecutive and goal-laden victories, went in search of a second. Villa had not mustered a single shot on target in open play by the time Jhon Duran let the game’s frustrations get the better of him.
Duran tangled with Fabian Schar shortly after the half-hour mark, sending the centre-back to the turf after a fair shoulder-to-shoulder before treading on his opponent. Duran, who was on his way to the ground himself, managed to dig both of his studded feet into Schar.
Much to the evident shock of the Colombian striker, Anthony Taylor produced a straight red card. The Premier League would later explain that Duran had been dismissed for “violent conduct”.
The match had been clearly tilted towards Villa’s goal with all 22 players present and accounted for. A numerically superior Newcastle seemed to be running downhill for the remainder of the match, laying siege to Martinez’s net.
Alexander Isak belatedly doubled Newcastle‘s lead shortly before the hour mark, tapping in Jacob Murphy’s square pass after a brilliant through ball from Bruno Guimaraes. The pair combined once again minutes later only to be denied by the offside flag. VAR also robbed Bruno Guimaraes of a goal but Joelinton would not be denied.
For the second time on Boxing Day, Martinez was beaten by a scorching curler, watching on helplessly as Joelinton picked out the top corner in the first minute of stoppage time.
A thumping and entirely deserved victory for Newcastle saw them leapfrog Villa, climbing all the way up to fifth in the Premier League table while their beaten visitors are slumped in ninth.
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Martin Dubravka |
6.6/10 |
|
RB: Kieran Trippier |
7.0/10 |
|
CB: Fabian Schar |
7.6/10 |
|
CB: Dan Burn |
7.3/10 |
|
LB: Lewis Hall |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Sandro Tonali |
7.6/10 |
|
CM: Bruno Guimaraes |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Joelinton |
8.5/10 |
|
RW: Jacob Murphy |
8.0/10 |
|
ST: Alexander Isak |
8.0/10 |
|
LW: Anthony Gordon |
7.9/10 |
|
SUB: Matt Targett (79′ for Trippier) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Joe Willock (79′ for Murphy) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Harvey Barnes (79′ for Gordon). |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Lewis Miley (90′ for Guimaraes) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: William Osula (90′ for Isak) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Odisseas Vlachodimos (GK), Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Emi Martinez |
6.2/10 |
|
RB: Matty Cash |
5.8/10 |
|
CB: Ezri Konsa |
6.1/10 |
|
CB: Pau Torres |
5.9/10 |
|
LB: Lucas Digne |
6.6/10 |
|
CM: Boubacar Kamara |
6.6/10 |
|
CM: Amadou Onana |
6.2/10 |
|
AM: Youri Tielemans |
6.1/10 |
|
RW: John McGinn |
6.2/10 |
|
ST: Jhon Duran |
4.8/10 |
|
LW: Morgan Rogers |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Ollie Watkins (46′ for Tielemans) |
5.7/10 |
|
SUB: Kosta Nedeljkovic (69′ for Cash) |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Ross Barkley (69′ for Kamara) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Leon Bailey (69′ for Rogers) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Emiliano Buendia (80′ for McGinn) |
6.3/10 |
Subs not used: Robin Olsen (GK), Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings, Jaden Philogene
Player of the match – Joelinton (Newcastle)
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