Frustrated Emery insists Villa will appeal Duran red as Tyneside curse continues 

It was hard not to sympathise with the frustrated Spaniard as Villa extended their wretched record at St James' Park, where they have not won for almost 20 years.

Duran was harshly deemed to have stamped on Fabian Schar as the pair tussled for the ball near halfway with more than an hour of the contest remaining. The forward's contact with Schar's back looked accidental rather than deliberate as he lost his footing but VAR saw nothing to overturn referee Anthony Taylor's decision.

After the high of beating Manchester City, Villa were brought back down to earth. They could muster just one shot on target and have now lost the last five Premier League away games to undermine their hopes of securing a return to the Champions League next season.

Emery said: "The sending off changed the match and for me it wasn't a red card, completely not and of course we will appeal the decision. Maybe it was because it's Jhon Duran I don't know but three matches is hard to accept because if you watch the replay it's not clear where the foot is touching.

"He didn't kick him on purpose. I'm a supporter of VAR, it's there to help referees and I wanted the referee to go to the screen to have a look for himself. Otherwise, why do we have VAR?"

Duran's wasn't the only red card, Newcastle assistant boss Jason Tindall and Villa analyst Victor Manas were both banished to the stands for clashing in the tunnel at half-time as part of a raucous 20-man melee.

"It was probably 17 or 18 people trying to calm things down," Eddie Howe said: "I saw plenty but I don't know the actual details as to why Jason was sent off. Sometimes you have to stand up for what you think is right and protect yourselves.

"I don't think it's right that I go into too many details but you can draw your own conclusions. There's so much at stake and it sometimes spills over when you're as competitive as we want to be."

The Newcastle manager saw rather less of Duran's clash with Schar and he added: "It was maybe harsh and I was a little surprised the red card came out. I've not seen the replays, I've only seen it once live."

Villa were up against it inside 90 seconds after Sandro Tonali broke up play and two passes from Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton later Anthony Gordon cut inside onto his right foot to find the top corner from 15 yards.

An uphill task for the visitors took on Everest-like proportions when Duran was ushered down the tunnel, the histrionic protests from Newcastle players seemingly playing a part in Taylor's decision to brandish a straight red.

Alexander Isak put the outcome beyond doubt just before the hour, scoring for the fifth league game in a row with a close-range tap-in from Jacob Murphy's low cross. Murphy hit the bar before Joelinton was allowed to run into the Villa box to curl home an injury-time third.

Newcastle are up to fifth on the back of four consecutive wins for the first time in 15 months. They have outscored their opponents 14-1 in that spell and Howe added: "It's taken us a couple of wins to get that edge back and we're ending the year on a high."

Newcastle (4-3-3): Dubravka 7; Trippier 8 (Targett 79, 6), Schar 7, Burn 7, Hall 7; Tonali 8, Guimaraes 8, Joelinton 8; Murphy 7 (Barnes 79, 5), Isak 8, Gordon 8 (Willock 79, 5).

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez 8; Cash 6 (Nedeljkovic 68, 6), Konsa 6, Torres 6, Digne 6; Kamara 6 (Barkley 69, 5), Onana 6; McGinn 6 (Buendia 80, 5), Tielemans 6 (Watkins 46, 6), Rogers 6 (Bailey 69, 5); Duran 5.

Referee: Anthony Taylor