Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa: Duran sees red as Magpies extend strong run
Newcastle United delivered a commanding performance, decisively defeating Aston Villa 3-0 at St. James’ Park, thereby extending the Magpies’ remarkable unbeaten streak against their opponents to 16 matches in the Premier League at home.
After a morale-boosting victory over Manchester City on Saturday, Unai Emery’s squad aimed to capitalize on that success in Tyneside. However, the Toon Army quickly made their presence felt, celebrating a goal within just two minutes of the match's commencement.
A swift counterattack saw Joelinton find Anthony Gordon at the edge of the penalty area, where he took a touch before expertly curling a shot into the far corner of the net.
Aston Villa struggled to find their rhythm initially, with Lucas Digne’s well-placed free-kick being the best opportunity early on, which was expertly saved by Martin Dúbravka.
As the Villans began to settle into the match, they suffered a significant setback just after the half-hour mark. Jhon Durán engaged in a 50-50 challenge with Fabian Schär, but his follow-through was deemed dangerous, resulting in a straight red card for the Colombian striker.
Following this pivotal moment, the home team asserted their dominance and believed they had scored a second goal in the 43rd minute when Joelinton fired in a shot from an Alexander Isak pullback, only for the latter to have taken the ball out of play.
Sandro Tonali then had a shot that was deflected around the post by Emiliano Martínez, as Eddie Howe’s side ended the first half in a commanding position.
Newcastle resumed the match with the same intensity, launching a series of relentless attacks on the Villa goal. Their persistent pressure bore fruit just before the hour mark, when Jacob Murphy sliced through the Villa defense and set up Isak for a simple tap-in.
The Swede believed he had increased his score shortly thereafter, but his goal was disallowed due to an offside infraction. Murphy was causing significant issues for the visitors' defense, creating chaos along the right side, yet the winger was thwarted from scoring when his shot struck the crossbar.
The home team found the net again before the conclusion of the match, but Bruno Guimarães' attempt was annulled because of a handball in the preceding play.
Nonetheless, this did not alter the final outcome, as his fellow Brazilian Joelinton executed a superb finish during stoppage time, culminating in a commanding Boxing Day performance that secured a substantial victory for Newcastle against Aston Villa, who continue to face difficulties in the north-east.
SportsLigue