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...
9. Jacob Murphy - 7
Did not hit the heights of his recent displays so far but providing good balance out on the right. Won the ball high up the pitch and saw a shot deflect wide early in the second half before grabbing yet another assist for Isak to make it 2-0. Should have made it 3-0 but hit the bar with the goal gaping, his decision to pass to Isak instead of shooting also stopped a potential goal. | Getty Images
10. Anthony Gordon - 8
Got Newcastle off to a flying start with a brilliant effort from the edge of the box. Posed a threat throughout. | Getty Images
11. Alexander Isak - 7
Had some really good moments in and around the area to create opportunities for his teammates. Thought he got an assist for Joelinton but was penalised for the ball going out of play. Grabbed his goal in the second half and could have made it 3-0 but was denied by the offside flag. | Getty Images
12. Harvey Barnes - n/a
On for Gordon 78: Brought some fresh legs in the closing stages. | Getty Images