Newcastle United recorded their third straight Premier League win yesterday.
The Magpies beat Aston Villa 1-0 at St. James’ Park.
Kieran Trippier scored the game’s only goal via a free-kick just before half-time.
The strike clipped Emi Buendia on its way through, causing the ball to fly past Emi Martinez.
It was another huge result for Newcastle, who are now four points clear of the relegation zone. Eddie Howe’s men also have a game in hand on Norwich City.
One of the only downsides to the result was that goalscorer Trippier had to go off with an injury.
The England international went off shortly after the restart, and went to hospital for a protective boot.
Hopefully, he will not be out of action for too long and boot is simply a precaution.
It was no coincidence that Trippier’s exit from the action then resulted in Villa coming forward more often, with Lucas Digne heavily involved for the visitors.
Trippier was replaced by Emil Krafth, which will have been a worrying sight for some.
But the Sweden international stepped up to his credit.
He did not show the same level as Trippier. But he was solid enough after coming on.
There was a moment where it looked as though he had played Ollie Watkins onside when he had scored. But thankfully the Villans striker was just off.
Krafth deserves credit for managing daunting task of replacing Trippier against Aston Villa
By no means did Krafth put in a masterclass. But he was fairly solid and stuck to his task well. The pressure was certainly on for him given how well Trippier has played since his arrival.
With Trippier going off, really, that’s all Newcastle fans will have wanted.
He has not really ripped up trees at the club since joining back in 2019 from Amiens for a reported £5 million (Express & Star).
But on this occasion, he was needed and he played a part in Newcastle remaining solid for the rest of the game.
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