Newcastle v Aston Villa player ratings: Trippier 8, Burn 9; Mings 7, Coutinho 4

Magpies make it three Premier League wins on the trot with 1-0 victory at St James' Park

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  NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Martin Dubravka - 7: Not a save to make in first half, and not particularly busy in second even with Villa more of a threat. AFP

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  Kieran Trippier - 8: Captain for day in Jamaal Lascelle’s absence and scored his second free-kick in successive games, via a slight deflection. Was injury concern before game and limped off just after half-time in huge blow for Magpies. PA

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  Dan Burn - 9: Local boy making his debut and enjoyed a man-of-the-match performance. Calm and commanding from start to finish. Ripped a massive chunk out of Mings’ shirt in second-half tussle. Getty

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  Fabian Schar - 8: Looked in trouble after being caught in face by teammate Trippier’s arm in first five minutes but returned to action after long stoppage. Left with cut round eye that required more treatment and a bandage round his head. Didn’t stop him putting in committed shift. AFP

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  Javier Manquillo - 7: Looked in trouble after nasty landing resulted in ankle injury. Tried to carry on but limped off just before half-time bringing an early end to his 100th game for the club. PA

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  Jonjo Shelvey - 8: Fine game in midfield. Chased and harried Villa, made important challenges and was sensible in possession. Booked for scything down Ramsey. AFP

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  Joe Willock - 7: Clipped first-time shot well wide on 20 minutes. Starting to find a bit form in midfield and crowd appreciated his effort and workrate. PA

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  Joelinton - 7: Booked for trying to relieve Buendia of his shirt. Relishes his role in midfield where Newcastle are really benefitting from his hard graft. Distribution was great and made some important interceptions. Reuters

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  Ryan Fraser - 7: Scot is enjoying a good run in the team. Always busy, always looking for the ball and should have been put through on goal by Wood in first half. Another Newcastle player whose workrate was exemplary. Getty

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  Allan Saint-Maximin - 6: Quiet until 25th minute when he skipped past Cash and chipped ball into box but struggled to make impact as Villa regularly doubled up on him. PA

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  Chris Wood - 6: Couldn’t get any power or direction on header when picked out by Fraser and then hit abysmal shot high and wide with Fraser better placed just before half-time. AFP

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  SUBS: Paul Dummett – (On for Manquillo 45 + 4’) 7: Slotted straight in at left-back. No-nonsense defending was what Newcastle needed in second half. Getty

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  Emil Krafth – (On for Trippier 49’) 6: Played Watkins onside for goal that was disallowed by VAR but did OK for rest of half. Reuters

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  Bruno Guimaraes – (Willock 90 +2’) N/A. AFP

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  ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez - 6: Might have saved Trippier free-kick if not for deflection. Crazy decision to come charging out of box that almost resulted in Mings scoring an own goal. Reuters

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  Matty Cash - 7: Drilled shot just wide at start of second half and was given too much space by Newcastle as Villa found joy down Newcastle’s flanks after break. Helped keep Saint-Maximin relatively quiet. AFP

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  Calum Chambers - 6: First start for Villa but was a couple of centimetres from giving away clumsy penalty after fouling Willock … only for Trippier to belt home the resulting free-kick. PA

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  Tyrone Mings - 7: Headed over from corner just before break then nearly headed into his own net a minute later after rush of blood by goalkeeper. Left with half a shirt after tussle with Burn. Reuters

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  Lucas Digne - 6: Like Cash, made use of extra space he was given by Newcastle down his flank in second half but some of his final balls were poor. AFP

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  John McGinn - 6: Booked for chopping down Saint-Maxmin although looked like Scot got ball first. Had shot deflected just wide in first-half injury time but not his usual influential self for Villa. Getty

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  Douglas Luiz - 4: Woefully over-hit his first two set-pieces out for goal kicks – from a free-kick and a corner - which summed up Villa’s efforts in the first 45 minutes. Reuters

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  Jacob Ramsey - 5: Highly-rated midfielder bagged two against Leeds midweek but never looked like doing same on Tyneside. The 20-year-old had minimal impact on game. Getty

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  Emiliano Buendia - 6: His slight deflection on Trippier free-kick helped take shot away from Martinez. Looped header just wide minutes after Villa had goal disallowed. Getty

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  Philipe Coutinho - 4: Manager Steven Gerrard said before the game they are still building the Brazilian’s fitness and he contributed very little for Villa here. Reuters

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  Ollie Watkins - 5: Well marshalled by Newcastle in first half and barely touched the ball. Thought he had headed home leveller only for extremely tight VAR offside call. Reuters

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  SUBS: Danny Ings – (On for Watkins 73’) 5: Striker wasn't allowed any goalscoring opportunities. AFP

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  Leon Bailey – (On for Buendia 73’) 5: Did little on his return to action bar fouling Dummett and pick up a booking for bringing down Saint-Maximin. PA

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  Carney Chukwuemeka – (On for McGinn 85’) N/A. PA

Newcastle United made it three Premier League wins in a row with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday.

January signing Kieran Trippier scored from a free-kick for the second game in a row but the former Atletico Madrid full-back went off injured early in the second half which will be a major cause of concern for the Magpies.

Trippier’s decisive effort came after referee Craig Pawson had been correctly advised to change his decision to award a penalty - after Joe Willock had been fouled by Calum Chambers - and the official also had to rule out an Ollie Watkins equaliser for offside on the advice of his colleagues at Stockley Park.

After a poor first half, Villa did mount a fightback after the break, but they still barely troubled goalkeeper Martin Dubravka as Newcastle sealed a third win on the trot for the first time since November 2018.

The victory came at a cost, though, with Trippier - captain for the day with Jamaal Lascelles out due to illness - limping off just after half time. Manager Eddie Howe said after the game that Trippier had gone to hospital for X-rays on a foot problem.

The Magpies are now four points clear of the drop zone in 17th place after wins over Leeds United, Everton and now Villa.

"It wasn't the prettiest and we are the first to admit that. The beauty was in our defending and in our detail," said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe.

"In weeks gone by we might have lost that game or not won it. Now we are showing a new found resilience. We feel the organisation is there. We had to do the horrible things really well."

Villa manager Steven Gerrard was blunt about his team's efforts. "From start to finish we weren't good enough and deserved nothing from the game," he said.

"We were honest with the players half-time and we got a bit of a reaction but I've got no complaints with the result. I believe you make your own luck away from home and we were nowhere near it today."

You can see the player ratings from the game at St James' Park in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.