Aston Villa player ratings vs Newcastle: Two 4/10 'stinkers' but one standout 7

Anthony Gordon’s second-minute curler sent Newcastle on their way to all three points but it was Duran’s red card - for standing on the back of Fabian Schar’s thigh - which really killed Villa’s chances of a positive afternoon at St. James’ Park. Alexander Isak’s second-half tap-in and Joelinton’s stoppage-time stunner made sure of the result, condemning Villa to their fourth successive away loss.

It took just two minutes for Gordon to unleash a Christmas cracker, roaring the home crowd into life. A cheap giveaway in midfield from Boubacar Kamara allowed Joelinton to drive forward and feed Gordon, who was gifted far too much space to cut in and curl the ball into the far top corner. Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa should’ve closed in on Gordon so much quicker but it was a world-class finish for 1-0.

The Magpies were in the ascendancy after their early opener as Joelinton saw a header held by Emiliano Martinez before Schar’s 25-yard free-kick forced a diving stop from Villa’s ‘keeper. Sandro Tonali had the best opportunity to double Newcastle’s lead before the interval but the Italian’s curled effort was saved brilliantly by Martinez.

Duran’s sending-off came 32 minutes in as the Colombian had a coming together with Schar and then trod on the Newcastle defender when he fell to the ground. Referee Anthony Taylor thought it was a stamp from Duran’s right foot but it looked more like Villa’s number nine had lost his balance after falling awkwardly on his left ankle. VAR hardly had a second look, leaving Villa with ten men for the rest of the encounter.

Ollie Watkins came on for Youri Tielemans at half time as Emery tried to inject some added firepower for counter-attacks, but Newcastle were patient in their build-up and rarely provided an opening for Villa. The Magpies remained a threat, too, and Isak doubled his team’s lead in the 58th minute with a tap-in from a low Jacob Murphy cross.

Isak thought he’d scored another just a few phases of play later but the linesman’s flag was up for offside. John McGinn was dispossessed too easily in midfield and Isak played a clever one-two with Murphy before finding the net, but Newcastle’s number 14 strayed an inch offside. Chaos unfolded afterward as the hosts pushed on for a third goal; Martinez passed the ball straight to Joelinton and Murphy struck the crossbar on the follow-up.

Bruno Guimaraes went close to getting Newcastle’s third as he stood in the right place at the right time to convert Ezri Konsa’s goalline clearance into the net, but the ball hit Bruno’s elbow, so it was disallowed. Joelinton eventually sourced the third in stoppage time, opening up his body and finding the top right-hand corner. Amadou Onana laboriously gifted possession to the Brazilian midfielder, who cut in and whipped the ball beyond Martinez.

The Villans, who registered just four attempts on goal all game long, have now matched Newcastle’s record of the most Boxing Day defeats in Premier League history, with 16. Here’s how the players rated.

Aston Villa ratings vs Newcastle

Emiliano Martinez - 6

Impressed with a string of superb saves to keep Villa in the game, denying Schar, Tonali, Joelinton and Isak. Nearly made a costly error, however, passing straight to Joelinton before Murphy hit the bar.

Matty Cash - 5 (off 69’)

Perhaps at fault for Gordon’s goal as he failed to press the winger, instead distracted by Lewis Hall’s run. Booked for a coming together with Gordon earlier in the first period.

Ezri Konsa - 7

Made some important interventions to stop Isak and Gordon scoring from low crosses and made a crucial goalline clearance Also stepped up to play Isak offside for the striker’s disallowed strike.

Pau Torres - 5

Not physical enough to deal with Isak throughout. Unable to display his usual dominance when passing out from the back as Villa had the numerical disadvantage.

Lucas Digne - 6

Forced a save from Dubravka with a decent free-kick and nearly saw a low cross sneak into the net off Schar.

Boubacar Kamara - 5 (off 69’)

Gifted possession to Joelinton just before Gordon’s opening goal but got stuck in to try and keep Villa competitive.

Amadou Onana - 5

At fault for Joelinton’s goal as he passed the ball straight to the scorer. It’s a shame as he’d been heavily involved defensively beforehand, crunching in with three or four important tackles.

John McGinn - 4 (off 80’)

Just couldn’t make things stick as he struggled to win his ground duels and gave away possession far more often than usual.

Morgan Rogers - 6 (off 69’)

Regularly glided Villa up the field for half chances and won free-kicks in some decent positions.

Youri Tielemans - 5 (off at HT)

Poised to shine again as he was deployed as Villa’s attacking midfielder but failed to have the desired influence. Taken off at half time as Emery re-shaped Villa’s structure.

Jhon Duran - 4 (sent off 32’)

Saw red for what the referee thought was a stamp, but it didn’t look deliberate. Unable to make much of a positive impact when he was on the pitch.

Subs:

Ollie Watkins - 5 (on at HT)

Won a couple of aerial duels but was dealt with relatively easy by Burn and Schar.

Kosta Nedeljkovic - 6 (on 69’)

A promising display as he mopped up a few loose passes and broke forward a couple of times.

Ross Barkley - 6 (on 69’)

Managed just as many accurate passes as McGinn did, despite coming on over halfway through the second period.

Leon Bailey - 5 (on 69’)

Hardly made his mark.