This defeat, Villa’s fifth in a row away from home in the Premier League, made it 17 visits to Newcastle without a victory, on the 25th anniversary of the last time they won on the road on Boxing Day.
It is St James’ Park which continues to be a particularly unhappy hunting ground and they have now lost their last three visits here by an aggregate score of 12-1.
Last season Unai Emery’s team lost Tyrone Mings to serious injury on route to a 5-1 defeat.
This time they lost Jhon Duran to a red card after just half-an-hour, the Colombia international striker dismissed for what referee Anthony Taylor adjudged to be a stamp on Magpies defender Fabian Schar.
Villa were already trailing at that point to Anthony Gordon’s second minute opener but very much in the game. Duran’s exit, which looked a harsh call by the official, instead gave the afternoon an air of damage limitation.
In the end, a combination of good defending and some rather dire finishing meant Alexander Isak’s 59th minute tap-in and Joelinton’s stoppage time strike were the only other goals.
For Villa, it is the repercussions of Duran’s sending-off which may prove more serious. As things stand, the striker will miss Villa’s next three matches. This was the first game the 21-year-old, whose form has seen him oust Ollie Watkins from the team, had started this season without scoring, albeit he was only on the pitch for 31 minutes.
Newcastle’s win also sent them above Villa in the table and could also prove significant come May.
Villa had fallen behind inside six minutes on route to a heavy defeat on the opening day of last season. This time it took only 80 seconds for the hosts to grab the lead.
Boubacar Kamara lost out to Sandro Tonali in midfield and the ball was quickly switched to Joelinton, who had space to run at the defence. He found Gordon, who in truth was afforded too much space to curl an excellent finish into the top corner from just inside the left-hand edge of the box.
The hosts looked in the mood to add another quickly with Kieran Trippier, starting for the first time since early October, seeing an effort deflected wide. Bruno Guimaraes was then unable to get a header on target from the resulting corner.
Gradually, Villa began to get a foothold in the game with the midfield duo of Kamara and Amadou Onana winning challenges. It required a decent save from Martin Dubravka to prevent Lucas Digne from equalising with a free-kick which wasn’t aimed quite far enough in the corner to evade the goalkeeper’s dive.
Yet on the half-hour mark came the game’s big talking point when Duran was sent-off. Villa had been frustrated in the minutes before by referee Taylor’s awarding of two very generous free-kicks to the hosts.
When Amadou Onana looked to set Duran away it was Schar who got to the ball first and as the defender went to ground having booted the ball out of play the striker effectively ran over him. It was the kind of incident which can look far more deliberate in slow-motion but even in real time referee Taylor decided that was the case, brandishing the red card as Duran protested his innocence in vain.
Villa’s bench were furious and in the minutes which followed, Emery and Newcastle assistant Jason Tindall had to be kept apart by fourth official Leigh Doughty.
In the meantime, it required a superb save from Emi Martinez to ensure the visiting team’s deficit only remained at one at the break, the keeper flinging himself to his right to keep out Tonali’s effort from 12 yards out.
Emery introduced Watkins at the break to replace the hole left up front by Duran’s departure but it was clear Villa would spend the rest of the game largely defending.
McGinn nearly gifted the hosts a second when he lifted a clearance right into the path of Jacob Murphy, with the latter seeing a shot blocked. Isak then should have done rather better than shoot straight at Martinez from 12 yards out.
Yet just before the hour mark the Sweden international could not miss when Murphy squared for him to tap home from six yards out and give the home side breathing space.
The advantage should have been quickly extended but Isak somehow managed to stray offside before tapping home after McGinn had again lost the ball. Villa seemed in the mood to offer gifts but again they weren’t accepted when Martinez passed straight to Joelinton on the edge of the box, the keeper saving the striker’s shot with Murphy hammering the loose ball off the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Villa came close to pulling one back when Schar deflected a Digne cross off his own post, while Pau Torres should have done better with a close range header.
Guimaraes then saw a goal chalked off by VAR for handball before Joelinton finally accepted one of Villa’s gifts in stoppage time, pouncing on Onana’s loose pass before hammering a shot into the top corner.
Newcastle (4-3-3): Dubravka, Trippier (Targett 79), Schar, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Guimaraes (Miley 90+3), Joelinton, Murphy (Willock 79), Isak (Osula 90+3), Gordon (Barnes 79) Subs not used: Almiron, Kelly, Longstaff, Vlachodimos (gk).
Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash (Nedeljkovic 69), Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara (Barkley 69), Onana, McGinn (Buendia 80), Tielemans (Watkins HT), Rogers (Bailey 69), Duran Subs not used: Mings, Carlos, Philogene, Olsen (gk).