Newcastle United beat 10-man Aston Villa 3-0 at St James’ Park on Boxing Day - here are the player ratings from the match so far.
Eddie Howe made two changes to his side that won 4-0 at Ipswich Town last time out in the Premier League with Joelinton returning from suspension and Kieran Trippier starting his first match since October. Joe Willock dropped to the bench and Tino Livramento dropped out of the matchday squad due to illness.
Newcastle opened the scoring inside the opening two minutes as Anthony Gordon curled the ball in from the edge of the box from Joelinton’s pass.
Aston Villa were reduced to 10 men after 32 minutes as Jhon Duran was dismissed for violent conduct against Fabian Schar.
Joelinton had the ball in the net just before half-time after some good work from Alexander Isak but the flag was up for going out of play in the build-up. Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall was shown a red card at half-time for clashing with one of Aston Villa’s analysts in the tunnel.
Newcastle doubled their lead after the hour mark as Isak turned in his 12 goal of the season from close range following Jacob Murphy’s low cross. The Swede had the ball in the net shortly after but was denied by the offside flag.
Bruno Guimaraes thought he’d made it 3-0 in the closing stages but was denied by a VAR check for handball. Joelinton then did make it 3-0 in stoppage time with a fine strike from distance.
Here are the player ratings from the match...
5. Lewis Hall - 8
Got forward well on the overlap, allowing Gordon space to threaten. Defended well when needed. | Getty Images
6. Sandro Tonali - 8
Won back possession in the build-up to Gordon's goal. A tireless midfield display to make his presence felt. Should have capped an impressive first half display with a goal but was well denied by Martinez. Less involved in the second half. | Getty Images
7. Bruno Guimaraes - 9
Kept Newcastle on the front foot with some good pressure. Played a key role in the first and second goals. Unfortunate to be denied a goal late on. | Getty Images
8. Joelinton - 8
An excellent physical performance in the middle of the park. Had a goal ruled out at the end of the first half but scored an unstoppable effort in stoppage time to make it 3-0. Booked. | Getty Images