Newcastle United are still flying in fourth place following an impressive 4-0 win against Aston Villa at St James' Park.
Callum Wilson broke the deadlock just before half-time from the spot and the striker doubled his side's advantage in the 56th minute with a header following a well-worked corner kick routine. Joelinton added a third from close range just before the hour mark and Miguel Almiron made it four with another stunning goal midway through the second half.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
READ MORE: Newcastle United vs Aston Villa highlights
Newcastle show grit...before running riot
Villa did not sit back as Crystal Palace and Bournemouth previously did at St James', but the visitors disrupted the hosts' rhythm and slowed the game right down in the opening half-hour. Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia, for example, both infuriated Newcastle players and staff with how long they were down receiving treatment. Martinez, to be fair, did ultimately come off with a head injury in the 35th minute at a time when Newcastle had just one shot on target during a stop-start game.
What felt like an unprecedented 10 minutes of stoppage time were ultimately added on, which showed just how much Villa had run down the clock, but Newcastle soon found the breakthrough in the sixth minute of added time. Miguel Almiron's shot was blocked by the arm of Ashley Young and referee Paul Tierney immediately pointed to the spot.
With England boss Gareth Southgate watching on in the directors' box, Callum Wilson stepped up and coolly put the hosts in front from the spot. In a half of few clear cut chances, it was a precious goal and changed the whole dynamic of the game as the players were cheered off the field.
Newcastle never looked back after that and the Magpies were 3-0 up before the hour mark following further goals from Wilson and Joelinton before Almiron added a stunning fourth midway through the second half. Before long, the home support were taunting: 'You laughed at us when we went down, but who the f--- is laughing now?' That, of course, was a reference to Newcastle's relegation at Villa Park in 2009.
Newcastle are here to stay
In the midst of the celebrations at Spurs last week, Howe was already thinking about this game because the Newcastle boss 'wanted to win' and 'prepare the group as best I can' for Villa. Howe's players were certainly not getting carried away, either, after moving into the top four last week.
The mark of a good side, after all, is not just going to Spurs and winning, but doing the same six six days later against Villa. That is simply what Newcastle are going to have to do on a consistent basis in the coming months to stay in the race for Europe.
On paper, this may have seemed a more straightforward game but Villa looked liberated after former manager Steven Gerrard was sacked. After putting Brentford to the sword last week, the visitors will have been keen to impress Unai Emery in interim boss Aaron Danks' final game in charge.
Villa did a good job of frustrating Newcastle in the first half, before Wilson's opener, but the visitors crumbled in the St James' cauldron after the striker made it 2-0 and the Magpies quickly ran riot. On an afternoon where Chelsea were hammered by Brighton - which shows the quality of the Premier League right now - you can't underestimate the significance of this result. It felt like another statement in a way. Newcastle are here to stay, all right.
Emery watches on from afar but Newcastle have right manager
Unai Emery was not in the dugout on Saturday, of course, but Aston Villa's new manager will have been watching on from afar as his new side faced Newcastle - the club he came so close to taking charge of a year ago. Emery may have been Newcastle owners' first choice, before the spooked Spaniard turned the Magpies down, but Eddie Howe proved the right choice.
Howe admitted earlier this month that the moment he found out it was him and Emery going for the job, he 'resigned' himself to the fact 'that it wasn't going to be mine' because of the Spaniard's track record. However, Howe has since overseen a remarkable transformation that, perhaps, would not have even been imaginable under Emery.
At this stage last season, after all, Newcastle were bottom of the table without a win and the Magpies had the worst defence in the Premier League. Now, Howe's side are fourth with the meanest defence in the top-flight. That is not just down to a £210m spend and you only have to look at the improvements inherited players like Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton have made to realise that. You can see why captain Jamaal Lascelles remarked: 'We've got a group of players who would run through a brick wall for the manager.'
It is not just Howe who has made an impact, either, but his staff, too, who have made Newcastle one of the best sides in the country at set-pieces. Wilson's second goal was a routine straight from the training ground after a corner was played short. .Almiron slipped Trippier in down the right and the England international's cross was headed in by Wilson. These are the fine details at this level and that header proved a particularly important goal.
Special guests watch on
Gareth Southgate returning to St James' Park is one thing, as the England boss has on a number of occasions in 2022, but the sight of the actual manager of Brazil in the directors' box shows how far Newcastle have come in a year when that would have once been an unimaginable prospect. Tite was in town to watch Bruno Guimaraes, and Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, after having lunch with the Newcastle talisman in Jesmond on Friday.
However, the Brazil boss will have also kept an eye on the uncapped Joelinton who, like Wilson, also scored in front of his watching national team manager. Joelinton again lined up out wide and the Brazilian's versatility surely makes him an attractive option moving forward.
Dan Burn and this backline are undroppable
One of the reasons Matt Targett left Aston Villa to join Newcastle was because the left-back did not want to sit on the bench. However, Targett was again left out of the starting line-up on Saturday as he came up against his former side for the first time as a Newcastle player.
Targett has failed to start any of Newcastle's last six games and Dan Burn, a centre-back by trade, is now ahead of the left-back in the pecking order. That is not a slight on Targett, though. Burn and those Newcastle defenders playing at the back are simply undroppable at the moment after keeping three clean sheets and conceding just three goals in their last six games.
Burn may not be a rampaging full-back, but the Geordie is a key player in this side both for his defensive qualities and his leadership skills. There was a timely reminder of the former midway through the first half when Burn denied Emiliano Buendia with a last-ditch challenge inside the area just as the Argentine was about to pull the trigger. It was a goal-saving block. Villa did appear to target Burn at times in the opening stages, as the rapid Leon Bailey repeatedly ran at the left-back, but Newcastle's defence held firm once more.
READ NEXT
Eddie Howe's scary Newcastle warning Premier League will fear with £88.5m talent bonus to come
Eddie Howe's 'disappointment' as he hits back at Newcastle spend critics after Jurgen Klopp dig
Everything Eddie Howe said at his press conference
Newcastle have already found one of the best players that Allan Saint-Maximin has ever seen
Newcastle have FFP and kit sponsor edge after £60m Arsenal deal
