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Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa: Jhesus Christ, Jhon

Jhon Duran was sent off in the first half as Newcastle forced their way past Aston Villa to rise into the Champions League qualification places.

Newcastle were already in front when Duran was given his marching orders, with Anthony Gordon scoring a sublime goal within the opening 90 seconds.

They took advantage to double their lead after the break when Alexander Isak finished a well-worked move as 10-man Villa were overpowered and breached again by Joelinton in stoppage-time.

Unai Emery has a poor record against the side he rejected before Eddie Howe was appointed in November 2021, including 4-0 and 5-1 thrashes at St James’ Park, and despite the relatively improved scoreline this was no less one-sided.

The Magpies had 20 shots to four, starting with Gordon’s stunning curler in a relatively even start to the game.

But things quickly went downhill for the visitors when Duran was shown a straight red card after a clash with Fabian Schar.

The pair challenged for a loose ball with a shoulder barge but the Villa striker incurred the wrath of referee Anthony Taylor by planting his studs into the centre-half’s back as he lay prone on the ground.

Duran argued with the decision and threw a water bottle on the touchline, while Emery and Jason Tindall had an angry exchange which resulted in the Newcastle assistant being sent off at half-time.

Villa briefly threatened an unlikely comeback when Ollie Watkins was introduced at the break but Newcastle held firm and eventually strengthened their position when Isak tapped in from Jacob Murphy’s centre after a fine Bruno Guimaraes through ball.

They nearly compounded to Villa’s misery when Murphy crashed an effort against the crossbar and Guimaraes had a goal ruled out for offside.

But Villa’s passing out of defence caused them constant problems and was always likely to result in a goal, which Joelinton delivered in stoppage-time after intercepting a tired Amadou Onana ball.

The result lifts Newcastle into fifth and a theoretical Champions League qualification place after three successive wins, with Villa a point behind in eighth.

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