Sandro Tonali has brought Newcastle an abundance of gifts but perhaps foremost among them is the rare ability to slow games down that offers Eddie Howe’s high-intensity team the sort of invaluable control they have so often lacked in recent months.

With Tonali once again imperious at the base of midfield as he ran through his Andrea Pirlo‑esque repertoire of short and long passes, seamless interceptions and all-round superior vision, Newcastle were in front before Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán’s controversial 32nd‑minute sending-off was followed by a 20-man half-time altercation in the tunnel.

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By the time the dust settled on that angry melee – Howe’s always combustible assistant, Jason Tindall, was also shown a red card, along with the Villa analyst Victor Manus – Newcastle were en route to fifth place.

If Tonali’s ability to keep his head proved priceless, it also helped that well before the final whistle Alexander Isak had scored a seventh goal in five league games, vindicating his manager’s pre-match suggestion that Champions League qualification is a realistic ambition at St James’ Park after all.

Villa are only a point behind, yet found themselves ninth at the end of a day that started going wrong in the second minute,when Tonali demonstrated precisely why the recent upturn in Newcastle’s fortunes has coincided with Howe’s decision to relocate him from a No 8 role to the No 6 brief.

The Italy midfielder’s latest game-changing intervention involved Tonali stealing possession near the halfway line before Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton combined to play in the excellent Anthony Gordon. When Matty Cash backed off, the England winger cut inside on his right foot before directing a gloriously curling, dipping shot beyond Emiliano Martínez’s reach as it arrowed inexorably towards the far top corner.

Emery’s already irascible mood darkened when Durán was subsequently shown a straight red card for violent conduct, namely stamping on Fabian Schär’s thigh and back in the course of hurdling the prone defender during the fallout from Schär’s ball-winning sliding tackle.

Durán looked furious as he trudged off, claiming it was an accident. Although the replays, albeit slowed down considerably, supplied a strong case for the prosecution, it was difficult to know where else the Colombian could have put his feet in real time.

“For me it’s not a red card,” Emery said, indicating that Villa would attempt to appeal against a decision endorsed by VAR.

“It wasn’t his intention to do that. The pictures aren’t clear. The referee needed to take his time, to be intelligent, he was too quick. I think it was because he thought Jhon has a bad reputation. I think we’ll appeal; hopefully it won’t be three matches suspended.”

Howe did not demur. “I was a little bit surprised to see a red card, I thought it was maybe a little harsh,” he said. “But we’re not winning by luck.”

The Newcastle manager turned seriously diplomatic when he was asked about Tindall’s red card on a day when his assistant exchanged ill-tempered first-half insults with Emery. “I don’t think I should go into details but 17 or 18 of the people involved were trying to calm things down,” he said.

“No one wants to see it. It’s not at all what I want from my players or staff but sometimes you have to protect each other, stand up for each other. And when you’re as competitive as we want to be, things sometimes spill over. It was all a blur and I’m not sure what Jason’s been charged with but if you send him off you could have sent 10 or 15 people off!”

Order was restored when Guimarães’s fine pass and Jacob Murphy’s low cross prefaced Isak sending a first-time shot past Martínez from close range. It was Isak’s 12th goal in 19 appearances this season and the Swede subsequently had another effort disallowed for offside.

After that, a Murphy shot struck the bar when it might have been easier to score and, following a VAR review, Guimarães had a goal ruled out for handball. No matter: in stoppage time Joelinton unleashed a swerving shot that proved far too good for Martínez as he reminded everyone why he used to be a centre forward.

The trip to Old Trafford on Monday night may tell us more but, given that it was Newcastle’s 11th goal and third clean sheet in three league games, a return to Europe in 2025 seems well within their reach.

As Howe put it: “We go to Manchester United with real quality and confidence … and I wouldn’t swap Alexander Isak for anyone.”