In the 25th round of the Premier League, Kieran Trippier scored a free kick for the second time in six days, giving Newcastle a 1-0 win over Aston Villa to win three consecutive league games.
The England defender's goal in the 35th minute helped Newcastle win the game and managed to leave the relegation zone.
Trippier's goal was confirmed after referee Craig Bauson was advised by the video assistant referee to change his decision to award. In addition, at the suggestion of VAR, Bauson also blew off the equaliser scored by Orly Watkins for Villa.
Villa launched a deadly counter-attack in the second half but ultimately failed to cause enough trouble for Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
After Chris Wood caused trouble on the edge of Villa's penalty area, Joe Willow's shot in the 20th minute deflected off the goal guarded by Emiliano Martinez. Ryan Fraser repeatedly found space on the left, making Newcastle's attack extremely threatening.
The home team was awarded a penalty in the 31st minute after Willock was tripped by Callum Chambers, but a VAR check showed that the player's contact took place outside the box.
Trippier scored his first goal since joining the club in a free kick against Everton on Tuesday. In this game, he repeated the trick and once again broke through the goal of Villa with a free kick.
Wood's shot deflected off goal in the 43rd minute after Willock steal douglas Luiz and the Newcastle forward blocked John McGinn's shot off the post when the ball was stopped.
However, Newcastle took a hit in the 3 minutes after the start of the second half, with Trippier falling to the ground after being stepped on by an opponent and was quickly replaced.
After the game, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said: "Trippier has gone to the hospital for an X-ray and we have been praying that he will not have a fracture".
In the second half, Villa regained morale and Buendia was very active. Watkins and Marty Cash shot back-to-back shots but failed to break newcastle.com.
Dubravka made his first save in the 56th minute, grabbing Luiz's free-kick, although his save was far from the goal, while Martinez was relieved to see St. Maxim's shot blocked by Cash's save at the other end.
In the 61st minute, when Watkins scored with a header from the far post after Philip Coutinho's shot bypassed Fabian-Shar, the visiting team thought they had equalised, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled offside.
Next, Steven Gerrard's side continued to put pressure on Newcastle, which forced the Magpies to defend at home in the final hours of the game, Danny Inces and Leon Pele replaced Watkins and Buendia respectively, but Newcastle eventually maintained a 1-0 advantage until the end of the game.
Speaking after the game, Eddy Howe said: "The victory of this game puts us in a very good position at the moment and our players have done their best. In the last 3 games, I don't think there's any secret to the way we win games.
I don't think we played so smoothly, we didn't play well, but the players worked very hard and they strictly executed the coach's tactical arrangements. Now, our players are very united, and that's the magic weapon we can win in a row. ”
After beating Aston Villa, Newcastle have seen their side win in a three-game winning streak, the first time since November 2018 that the Magpies have won three in a row in the Premier League. It seems that the Saudi boss's heavy investment in the winter window for Newcastle has begun to see results.