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 Duran's controversial 32nd-minute sending-off was followed by a 20-man half-time altercation in the tunnel.
By the time the dust settled on that 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, thanks to Tonali.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 27, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 27, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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