Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson netted twice and Miguel Almiron scored a sensational second-half strike as the fourth-placed Magpies thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 at St James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Villa’s afternoon got off to a bad start when goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was struck in the head by teammate Tyrone Mings’ knee in the 18th minute and had to be replaced by Robin Olsen 17 minutes later.
Olsen pulled off a good save to deny Almiron but there was little he could do when Villa’s Ashley Young conceded a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time and Wilson blasted the spot kick down the middle to give Newcastle the lead.
With England manager Gareth Southgate watching from the stands, Wilson headed a second after an excellent short corner in the 56th minute and three minutes later Joelinton added another, pouncing on a rebound from a Wilson shot to score.
Paraguayan Almiron made it four in the 67th, taking a couple of touches before curling an exquisite left-foot shot in at the far post as Newcastle ran riot against a ragged Villa defence.
Wilson hit the bar with another header after 76 minutes and Jacob Murphy hit the post two minutes later as Newcastle held on for a dominant win to remain fourth in the table on 24 points from 13 games, with Villa 15th on 12 points.
