Newcastle United secured a 2-1 win over Aston Villa to earn back-to-back wins in the Premier League.
The Magpies opened the scoring in the first half when Hatem Ben Arfa turned Loic Remy's cross in at close range. However, after the break Villa were on level terms as Tim Krul misjudged a corner and Christian Benteke headed home.
Alan Pardew's side regained their advantage almost immediately when Yoan Gouffran showed predatory instincts to blast the ball into the net after Ben Arfa's initial effort was saved by Brad Guzan, which was enough to secure the three points.
Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action at Villa Park.
Match statistics:
Aston Villa:
Shots 10
On target 1
Possession 55%
Corners 4
Fouls 9
Newcastle:
Shots 17
On target 8
Possession 45%
Corners 2
Fouls 11
Was the result fair?
Newcastle were by far the better side. They showed decisiveness with the ball when the got into the final third of the pitch and were clinical in front of goal when given the opportunity. Villa did not create enough to trouble the Magpies defensively to warrant a point.
Aston Villa's performance
Villa were not good enough today and were especially poor in the midfield areas as Christian Benteke was starved of service throughout the game. Lambert's side were reduced to hoofing the ball upfield in the second half, which played into the hands of the Newcastle defenders. Even their goal came from a mistake from Magpies keeper Krul, as he came for the ball from a corner and missed it completely.
Newcastle's performance
Pardew's side were excellent all afternoon bar a few early moments in the second half when Villa briefly rallied. They moved the ball with ease at times and were solid at the back apart from the one mistake from Krul. Fabricio Coloccini and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa for large portions of the game nullified the threat of Benteke, which is no easy task. The Magpies fully deserved the three points.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Hatem Ben Arfa: The Frenchman ran the Villans' defence ragged; everytime he got the ball he caused them a lot of problems. He scored one goal being in the right place at the right time but could have had two more if not for Guzan. He had a brilliant all-round performance and was most certainly the match-winner for his side.
Biggest gaffe
Newcastle were denied a penalty late in the game when Ben Arfa turned Ciaran Clark inside and out before knocking the ball past him and the Republic of Ireland international responded by shoving him to the ground in the box. A definite penalty but referee Mike Dean waved play on.
Referee performance
Apart from the penalty decision, Dean had a solid game. He rightly booked Fabian Delph and Yanga-Mbiwa for poor tackles, while Mathieu Debuchy and Yohan Cabaye were also rightfully yellow-carded.
What next?
Aston Villa: Lambert takes his Villa side to face his old club Norwich City at Carrow Road next Saturday.
Newcastle United: The Magpies return to St James' Park to face Hull City next Saturday.
Simon Sinclair
