Newcastle United have moved up to fifth place in the table following a 3-0 win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring with an absolute rocket inside two minutes before Jhon Duran was sent off for a stamp on Fabian Schar just after the half-hour mark. Newcastle made their man advantage count in the second half. Alexander Isak doubled his side's lead from close range and Joelinton grabbed a third right at the death.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

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A statement result

This felt like a significant win - even at this stage of the campaign. Not only did Newcastle leapfrog Aston Villa and champions Manchester City in the table - the Magpies showed their mettle to win three league games in a row for only the first time since September, 2023.

There had been too many times previously where it seemed like Newcastle had turned a corner only to come crashing right back down to earth. The defeat at Brentford came just days after going toe-to-toe against Liverpool. The loss at home against West Ham occurred following wins against Arsenal, Chelsea (cup) and Nottingham Forest.

In some ways, then, Aston Villa were the ideal Boxing Day opponent to test this side's credentials. Newcastle knew they had to raise their game. As Joelinton put it: "We need to be at our best to beat them."

Newcastle could not have dreamt of a better start - Anthony Gordon fired the Magpies in front after just 75 seconds - but the hosts showed the other side of the game after taking an early lead. As Aston Villa came back into it, Newcastle were resolute and protected their goal: Kieran Trippier blocked Lucas Digne's cross; goal scorer Anthony Gordon tracked back to cut out Matty Cash's ball into the box; and Martin Dubravka was alert to parry Digne's free-kick midway through the first half.

Then, when Jhon Duran's red card changed the momentum of the game once more, Newcastle pushed for the killer second goal and Sandro Tonali had a curling effort tipped behind by Emiliano Martinez in the 44th minute. Alexander Isak ultimately made it 2-0 just before the hour mark after tapping home from Jacob Murphy's cutback. Newcastle did not stop there, though, The black-and-whites wanted more.

Isak had a goal disallowed just a couple of minutes later before Murphy's effort rattled the crossbar midway through the second half. There was still time for Bruno Guimaraes to have a goal ruled out for handball late on. Joelinton added the gloss in stoppage time after Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana passed the ball straight to the Brazilian and he let fly.

Newcastle race out of blocks after Aston Villa move backfires

Aston Villa had the temerity to switch Newcastle around to deafening boos after winning the toss, but that move quickly backfired. A fired up Newcastle stormed down the hill and opened the scoring after just 75 seconds.

The goal all came about after Sandro Tonali nipped in to win the ball off Boubacar Kamara by the halfway line and Bruno Guimaraes sent Joelinton galloping up the field. Joelinton picked out Anthony Gordon, who took a touch inside before unleashing a rocket past Emiliano Martinez from inside the box.

The roof nearly came off the stadium. For the third game running in all competitions, Newcastle took an early lead. It is not a coincidence that Eddie Howe's team have won all three. This side are hard to stop with momentum behind them.

Jhon Duran loses his head

No one could predict what was about to happen when Fabian Schar and Jhon Duran were sent on a footrace down the line and the Newcastle defender cleared the ball into touch to loud cheers with a well-time sliding challenge. As Jhon Duran fell to the turf, the Colombia international caught Schar on his lower back with his studs to leave Newcastle players furious; Martin Dubravka shoved Duran away before Joelinton gave the Aston Villa striker a piece of his mind and Dan Burn pointed a finger.

Duran was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor for violent conduct - a call checked and confirmed by VAR - to leave the striker incensed. Duran lashed out and booted a water bottle on to the pitch in frustration before making his way down the tunnel to a chorus of 'Who are ya?' from Geordies.

Half-time tunnel drama as Jason Tindall sent off

Tempers were not just flaring on the field. At one point, just before half-time, Jason Tindall put his finger to his lips to tell an apoplectic Unai Emery to be quiet after the Aston Villa boss ordered him to get back behind Eddie Howe. You suspect one or two people needed half-time just to cool down, but Tindall and Aston Villa analyst Victor Manas were sent off at the break.

Tindall's absence did not go unnoticed. Newcastle took the step of confirming the news on social media a few minutes into the second half while the Gallowgate even broke into a rendition of 'Last Christmas' as they sang about giving their heart to the assistant.

After watching the second half from the stands, Tindall, wearing a Wham hoody, emerged from the tunnel at full-time, which angered a member of Aston Villa's backroom team, who uttered some strong words. Tindall was ordered back inside by the fourth official so was unable to join in on the victory lap afterwards.

Geordies have last laugh

The word fortress does not quite do it justice. You have to go back to 2005 for the last time Newcastle lost at home against Aston Villa. Newcastle's 16-game unbeaten run against the Villains at St James' is the longest streak in the division versus one opponent. The Magpies have convincingly won the last four meetings on Tyneside.

Aston Villa may have taunted 'Is this a library?' after Newcastle went ahead but by the time Isak doubled Newcastle's lead, Geordies were breaking into a rendition of 'You laughed at us when we went down, but who is laughing now?' in reference to the black-and-whites' painful relegation at Villa Park in 2009. By the closing stages, Newcastle fans were crowing: "Aston Villa - it's happening again!"