Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United
Premier League match report: Newcastle demonstrated how united they are without Alexander Isak but also how much they miss his goal power during an occasionally entertaining but often turgid stalemate at Villa Park. Peter Lansley was there to see it …
Unai Emery: "The red card changed the match"
“I am not happy with one point at home,” says Villa’s head coach. “But against a team like Newcastle, they made a lot of good chances in the first half. Second half we dominated more, created chances. But the red card changed the match completely. The players responded fantastically, the point more or less is fair. It was a tough match. After the red card there was more necessity to defend, but we responded to all the issues on the field.”
On Ezri Konsa’s rush of blood to the head: “It is difficult to anticipate which is best in that moment. This action for Konsa, I can’t say anyhing about this decision.
On Marco Bizot’s eyecatching debut in goal for Villa: “Fantastic, he did very good work for his confidence and his team mates.”
Dan Burn: We'll be "bang up" for Liverpool at home
Having feigned outrage upon hearing that TNT match analyst Ally McCoist gave Fabian Schar the man of the match award ahead of him, Dan Burn is asked if he, like Anthony Gordon, expects Newcastle’s upcoming match against Newcastle to be a bit spicy?
“Yeah, probably,” he says. “We’ve beaten Liverpool in the [Carabao Cup] final but we’ve never beaten them in the league. It’s something we’ve targeted and want to do. I think everything that may have gone on in this off-season is gonna make it a good game and we’ll be bang up for it.”
Tyrone Mings: "We're happy with a point"
“It was a tough game, especially in the second half,” says the Villa defender in an interview with TNT. “We knew Newcastle would be high energy and on the front foot, so we had to be smart how we played. It was a fairly even game, and after being down to 10 men we are happy with a point.
“It was a tough first half of course, everyone trying to find their feet. But I enjoyed the game and our performance. It is difficult in the first weeks when the window is still open. It is important for the [senior] players here to keep the group focused.”
Eddie Howe: "I thought we were magnificent"
“I’m happy with the point,” says Newcastle’s head coach in an interview with the BBC. “I thought we were magnificent, front-foot, very aggressive. We had chances to score. I think we had a bit of a lull in the game until the red card and then came on strong again. I’m disappointed we didn’t win. I don’t think we dominated, chance-wise, the way we wanted. We were maybe a little bit too anxious to score. The players really turned up and gave everything.”
On Newcastle’s need for a striker who is prepared to play for them: “I can’t criticise anyone who played today,” he says. “I thought Anthony Gordon was very good in that position. I couldn’t fault his performance. I think we have to focus at how the team functioned rather than any individual. If you’re not totally together in the Premier League, you’re going to find it very difficult. I think we answered a few questions today in terms of our spirit. We have to do that on a regular basis, not just today.”
On Alexander Isak, who isn’t prepared to play for them: “From my perspective, you want a resolution quickly. It’s taking away the focus of the players, of the supporters. We want to be united together. We’d like a resolution, but we’re not in control of that.”
Anthony Gordon: “It’s a bit strange, really,” says Newcastle’s only natural blond in an interview with TNT Sports. “Coming here you’d probably have took a point because they’re a great team, it’s a great atmosphere and a hard place to play. But in the end, with the sending-off, you want to win the game and I felt like we were just a little bit sloppy in the final third. I feel like we could have done better but we’ll take a point.”
On Konsa’s sending-off: “Yeah, it’s one of them that if he doesn’t pull me down I’m through on goal and I score but it meant they had a player less. But I think once they’re a man down we need to find more composure and get a goal to win the game.”
On the Alexander Isak business: “It has been tough because we’re such a tight-knit group who doesn’t really have any problems publicly. That’s the first thing that’s tested us but you’ve seen we’re united and have a togetherness. We work on it every day and it’s never going to go regardless of individuals. Our togetherness is top and it always will be.”
On Newcastle’s next game at home to Liverpool: “I’m sure with everything that’s gone on, that game’s going to be a bit wild,” he says with a smile and a visible gleam in his eye. “I’m just excited to see the home fans again, get back in the stadium and it’s going to be a top game.”
And certainly not one for the faint-hearted, one suspects.
Full time: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United
Unbeaten in their last 22 games at home in all competitions at Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side have held out for a point but the Spaniard will be unimpressed with his side’s dismal first-half performance. Eddie Howe will be disappointed not to have won the match but can take great heart from a spirited effort from his side. However, the lack of goals in the absence of You Know Who will be a source of concern. Newcastle have now failed to score in any of the past five games in which Alexander Isak has played and missed several extremely presentable chances today.
90+6 min: Fabian Schar is penalised for something-or-other and isn’t happy about it. Villa have a free-kick just outside their own penalty area.But wait, it’s all over and the spoils have been shared. In my humble opinion it’s two points dropped for Newcastle and one gained for 10-man Villa.
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90+5 min: Bizot darts off his line and gets just enough of a paw on the inswinger to clear the danger presented by the set-piece.
90+4 min: A curled effort from Lewis Miley looks to be on target but Tyrone Mings diverts with his head. Newcastle corner.
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90+3 min: Rogers charges forward on the counter for Villa but steps on the ball and loses it with Lewis Miley giving chase and breathing down his neck.
90+1 min: Into added time we go, with six minutes of extras scheduled.
89 min: Matty Cash is in the wars again, this time coming out second best from a challenge with Harvey Barnes. As he grimaces and rubs his lower back, Newcastle make another substitution. William Osula comes on for Barnes.
87 min: Guimaraes tries to play Gordon in behind with a low defence-splitting pass that fails to live up to its description and is blocked. Good defending – Gordon would have been clear through on goal there but might have been flagged for offside.
85 min: Dan Burn plays a backpass to Nick Pope and for a split-second it looks like he might have undercooked it, with Watkins waiting to pounce. Not a bit of it – the ball trundles serenely and unimpeded to the feet of Newcastle’s goalkeeper.
84 min: Newcastle substitution: Lewis Miley on for Joelinton. Villa substitution: Donyell Malen on for John McGinn.
82 min: In what could conceivably be interpreted as a subtle message to his board, Unai Emery has yet to make a change. Boubacar Kamara has slotted into the heart of Villa’s defence while Pau Torres remains on the bench.
80 min: Livramento sidefoots a cushioned volley across the face of goal after getting on the end of a diagonal from deep but his cross is just inches out of Anthony Gordon’s reach.
79 min: McGinn tries to pick out Rogers with a delivery into the Newcastle penalty area but Fabian Schar is on hand to head clear.
78 min: Harvey Barnes picks out Elanga with a cross but his fellow winger is unable to get a shot off or even steer the ball across the face of goal. Elanga has shown plenty of willing but he’ll be disappointed with his debut for Newcastle after missing two excellent chances to score. His number goes up and he’s replaced by Jacob Murphy.
74 min: Still huffing and puffing from his last interaction with the ball, Cash is forced into action again and on this occasion ships a thumping Harvey Barnes volley in the stomach from close range. Lying in a heap on the ground, he looks very sorry for himself but after a few more gulps of air gets to his feet and soldiers on.
72 min: Matty Cash leaps selflessly to block a speculative Gordon piledriver from distance and has the wind knocked out of his breadbasket. After a quick breather he’s OK to continue.
70 min: While Villa can have no complaints about Konsa’s dismissal, I don’t think the foul was necessary. The angle of Gordon’s run suggested he did not have a direct run on goal and if Konsa hadn’t fouled him he might have strayed a little to right and wide to get off a shot. It’s mere speculation on my part, your honour and we’ll never know for sure.
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68 min: On the back of Konsa’s foul, Newcastle have a free-kick about eight yards outside the Villa penalty area. It’s another one from the training ground and one that almost certainly should have stayed there. At least the Villa fans enjoyed it.
Red card! Villa are down to 10 men
66 min: Newcastle attack on the break and Elanga plays a through ball to Gordon, who gets the run on Ezri Konsa. The Villa defender brings him down outside the penalty area and referee Chris Pawson doesn’t hesitate before brandishing the red card.
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64 min: A good Villa move through the centre ends with Rogers playing the ball into the feet of Watkins. He shoots straight at Nick Pope from a promising position and Newcastle dodge their second bullet of the half.
62 min: Matty Cash gets forward again before playing the ball inside to Morgan Rogers but before too long it makes its way back to the feet of Marco Bizot in the Villa goal.
58 min: Boubacar Kamara has his name taken for a foul on Elanga and Newcastle get a free-kick about 35 yards from the Villa goal. It’s one from the training ground and the ball’s worked to Fabian Schar to volley a cross or shot from the byline but Dan Burn hasn’t been studying the playbook and clatters into his own teammate by accident. “Dan Burn defends everything,” quips Ally McCoist on TNT Sports.
56 min: Now Ollie Watkins clips a cross from the left into the Newcastle box but it’s too high for Youri Tielemans. Villa have certainly upped their game since half-time but a lot of their passing and final ball delivery remains errant.
52 min: Youri Tielemans curls a wonderful teasing cross through the corridor of uncertainty in the Newcastle penalty area. It could scarcely be more inviting but there’s not a single one of his teammates in the vicinity to RSVP. Tielemans is not happy.
51 min: Industrious work from John McGinn down by the byline wins a throw-in for Villa deep in Newcastle territory. Matty Cash chucks the ball short to Kamara and within seconds it’s been played backwards all the way to the feet of Villa’s goalkeeper. Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, who had lumbered up expecting Cash to Delap the throw-in their way will not be impressed.
49 min: Dan Burn hunkers down hurt after colliding with Ollie Watkins as the duo chased a fifty-fifty ball. I think he shipped a bang on the knee but is fine to continue after a moment of silent reflection.
47 min: Villa play the corner short, create an angle and McGinn curls a splendid cross into the Newcastle penalty area with his right foot. Kamara’s bullet-header from about seven yards is straight at Nick Pope, who saves comfortably.
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46 min: Matty Cash drives a low cross into the Newcastle penalty area after good work by Boubacar Kamara. Dan Burn puts the ball out for a corner in front of the Holte End.
Second half: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United
46 min: Play resumes with Villa on the ball and no changes in personnel on either side.
Newcastle’s bench: It’s probably worth giving a shout-out to William Osula, who is also among the Newcastle substitutes and an actual striker by trade. It seems he has yet to convince Eddie Howe that he’s a “legitimate goal-scoring option” but he might get another chance to impress later in the game. The Dane only scored two goals for Newcastle last season but got three for his country in this summer’s European U-21 Championships.
Some correspondence from Down Under: “Excellent response from the players to all the external noise about Isak,” writes Chris Paraskevas in Western Sydney. “We could have really used a goal from Elanga and I fear Villa will get the chance to regroup (not sure what they were playing at). Who are Howe’s legitimate goal-scoring options off the bench? Pretty much only Jacob Murphy. If we lose tonight, you could hardly blame Eddie Howe - he’s set Newcastle up perfectly.”
An email: “Whilst there’s no doubt that Isak is a great striker, he is also quite streaky (see Aug-Oct and April-May last season for reference) and frequently not in the mood, so seeing him miss big chances is not a rarity,” writes Adam Berry. “I think getting a good fee for him and spending it on two proven strikers will drop our ceiling but also massively raise our floor over a potentially lethargic Isak and a crocked Wilson.”
Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle
It’s all square at the break. But make no mistake, Newcastle have been the vastly superior team. They should have taken an early lead when Anthony Elanga was played in behind the home defence but the debutant was denied by a splendid save by Marco Bizot, who is playing his first game for Villa. Elanga went on to snatch at another glorious opportunity, while Anthony Gordon should have done much better after getting on the end of an inch-perfect Harvey Barnes cross. Villa have offered comparatively little and can consider themselves very fortunate not to be behind.
45 min: Joelinton gets booked for a decidedly robust tackle on Amadou Onana. He can have no complaints and takes his licks without comment or protest. It’s half-time.
44 min: Newcastle remain in firm control of this game as we approach half-time but the deadlock remains intact. McGinn wins the ball in midfiedl and surges forward but has nobody up in support apart from Watkins. The Scot is unable to pick out the Villa striker.
42 min: The barbers of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been applying it liberally too, which is making things a mite more difficult than they need to be when it comes to identifying tough-tackling Newcastle ball-winners.
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40 min: It’s Rogers whose hairdresser has been playing fast and loose with the peroxide, just in case you’re pondering.
39 min: Digne and Rogers combine down the left flank but the bottle-blond Villa man is dispossessed by Fabian Schar.
37 min: Another long throw from Lucas Digne. Pope comes off his line to claim the ball comfortably despite the hulking nearby presence of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.
35 min: Villa’s main tactic, such as it is, seems to be playing long balls in behind Kieran Trippier for Ollie Watkins to chase. I suppose it’s a good idea in theory but most deliveries so far have been hideously overhit and invariably end up at the feet or in the hands of Nick Pope.
32 min: Dan Burn gets back to clear an Ollie Watkins pull-back from the byline, putting a stop to a promising Aston Villa move that began with what looked suspiciously like a Matty Cash foul on – I think – Gordon at the other end of the pitch.
31 min: If anything, Clive, the boy Elanga is trying too hard.
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29 min: It’s early days but Anthony Elanga is having a debut to forget for Newcastle. Running on to an excellent curled pass down the touchline from Kieran Trippier, he allows the ball to clank off his shins and go out for a throw-in despite being in acres of space. Aston Villa’s fans greet his latest misadventure with a raucous cheer.
28 min: Bruno Guimaraes snaps into a tackle in midfield and wins the ball. It’s played forward towards Anthony Gordon but Tyrone Mings gets across to cover before the Newcastle forward can get a sight on goal.
26 min: Lucas Digne takes a throw-in of his own and hoys the ball towards the near post, where Dan Burn thumps it clear with a meaty header.
22 min: Under pressure from a ferocious Newcastle press, Lucas Digne surveys his options and decides the pick of them is to just welly the ball into the stand for a Newcastle throw-in deep in Villa territory. His side are seriously under the collective Geordie cosh.
20 min: Newcastle continue to pile on the pressure but a Livramento cross from the left is plucked from the air by Bizot. Eddie Howe’s side might be the visitors but are playing like they’re at home and with better finishing would be at least two goals up.
19 min: Anthony Gordon chases a through ball from deep towards the Villa penalty area but is beaten to it by Bizot, who gathers comfortably.
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15 min: It’s been an entertaining game so far but the pick of the chances, indeed the only chances, have fallen to Newcastle. From outside the penalty area, Anthony Gordon shoots through a thicket of bodies and his effort takes a deflection off Matty Cash and is helped out for a corner by Marco Bizot. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
11 min: Barnes’s cross from the left is too high for Gordon but Elanga is lurking behind him and catches the ball on the volley from eight yards out. He slashes wildly at it and fails to hit the target. Newcastle’s new signing is clearly desperate to impress but needs to show more composure.
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10 min: Joelinton gets on the ball and combines with Tino Livramento down the left. Harvey Barnes takes up possession and curls a delightful cross towards the far post. Having peeled away from Tyrone Mings, Anthony Gordon sends his header over the bar. He should have hit the target and Newcastle have now squandered two excellent opportunities that one suspects a certain Swede would have put away in his sleep.
7 min: Newcastle successfully defend a Villa corner and break upfield. Bizot does well to prevent a deflected Anthony Gordon shot from going out for a corner for the visitors. The Dutch goalkeeper has had a dream start to his Premier League debut.
5 min: Harvey Barnes feels he should have had a penalty after getting shoved in the penalty box after that missed effort by Elanga. I’m inclined to think he might have had a case but in the Stockley Park VAR bunker, Peter Bankes disagrees.
2 min: John McGinn goes arse-over-tit on the cinder track beyond the touchline while trying to prevent the ball in play and bursts out laughing when the crowd cheer. The smile is wiped off his face when, moments later, Anthony Elanga finds himself through on goal with the ball at his feet. His shot is saved brilliantly by Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot and in the ensuing scramble, Newcastle have a penalty shout turned down. More on that anon.
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Aston Villa v Newcastle United is go ...
1 min: Newcastle kick-off, their players wearing green shirts, white shorts and green socks. Taking a leaf out of the Paris Saint-Germain handbook, they immediately boot the ball into touch down by the corner flag but are unable to win it back from the Villa throw-in.
A minute’s silence: There’s another pre-match tribute, this time in memory of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who also lost their lives in tragic circumstances this summer. Unsurprisingly, the silence is perfectly observed.
Not long now: Aston Villa’s walk-out music will have a special poignancy this afternoon. John McGinn leads the troops out to the monster riffola of Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train and pre-match tribute has already been paid to the late Godfather of Metal and Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 76. Bruno Guimaraes wears the captain’s armband for Newcastle and kick-off is just a few minutes away.
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Sandro Tonali: Newcastle’s Italian midfielder looks fighting fit and in a very good mood as he makes his way back to the dressing-room following his warm-up having a laugh and a joke with Tino Livramento. En route to the tunnel, he goes out of his way to high five several young Villa fans.
Some correspondence: “As a previously pessimistic Toon fan, our starting XI looks very balanced, steady at the back and middle and hopefully enterprising enough up front without Isak,” writes Jeremy Keady. “Not sure about our depth for today or indeed the coming months, but a point here would be great, considering our next match (Liverpool at home) and tricky first six matches (Villa, Liverpool, Leeds away, Wolves at home, Bournemouth away and Arsenal at home).”
And for balance: “Villa fan here,” writes Karl Ruben Weseth. “I was a bit baffled by the aggregated Guardian prediction that we’d finish fifth as well. I’ve seen a lot of analysis from various writers pointing towards Villa’s squad being settled as a big plus, but to me, the way Emery wasn’t able to crack Glasner’s Palace on the fourth time of asking last season made me fear that he’d hit his ceiling with the club.
“The way he then went on to make a lot of similar mistakes in the way he approached the Man Utd season-ender a couple of weeks later only stoked that fear. Those were arguably the two most important single fixtures last season, and Emery gave both of them away with a confoundingly timid approach. I still think he’s an amazing coach, but my cautiously pessimistic hunch is that this season will see a bit of a regression to mid-table for the Villa.”
Newcastle: Dan “Big Dan Durn” Burn has been talking to TNT Sports ahead of his warm-up and says he’s pleased with how pre-season has gone at Newcastle despite the “external noise” that’s surrounded the club. “We’re starting from zero again, we’ve got a lot to prove and we’re ready to go,” he says.
Asked if the noise in question might have brought the group of footballers who are actually happy to play for Newcatle closer together, he has this to say: “I think so. I mentioned the external noise but we’ve got quite a tight-knit group and we just get on with it. We’ve had four or five weeks now without Alex and for us he’s obviously not involved at the moment but we’ve got players who need to step up and contribute with the goals.”
Aston Villa: Youri Tielemans will make his 100th appearance for Aston Villa this afternoon and as he prepared to mark his century the Belgian sat down for an exclusive interview with our own Ben Fisher to discuss life, the universe and his determination to help end Aston Villa’s 30-year trophy drought.
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Aston Villa: Contrary to Unai Emery’s pessimistic view, our writers have predicted a fifth place finish for Aston Villa come season’s end. I would like to distance myself from the collective Guardian hive mind because according to my crystal ball they’ll be finishing ninth.
Newcastle United: If you’d asked me at the end of last season, I’d have predicted that Newcastle would spend big and well this summer, and possibly be in the title race this time around. After the summer they’ve had, I’m more of a mind that they’ll to do well to finish in the top 10. The Guardian Sport collective has them higher up in seventh place.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Craig Pawson.
Referee’s assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis and Nick Hopton.
Fourth official: Simon Hooper.
VAR: Peter Bankes.
Assistant VAR: Tim Robinson.
Those teams: With Emi Martinez suspended, Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot comes in for his Villa debut after join ing the club from Brest. New signing Evann Guessand is on the bench, while the inclusion of Donyell Malen among the Villa substitutes is a bit of a surprise as he is reported to have been in sensational form during pre-season.
Newcastle are without Joe Willock, who has been ruled out of today’s proceedings with a calf injury, while petulance’s Alexander Isak is obviously not involved. Aaron Ramsdale has to settle for a place on the bench, with Nick Pope keeping his place in goal, but there is a debut for Anthony Elanga on the right wing. Harvey Barnes will start on the left, with Anthony Gordon playing as a false nine.
Barely in the door, Malick Thiaw is among the Newcastle substitutes, along with South Korean teenager Park Seung-soo, who has apparently turned a few heads with good performances in pre-season.
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Aston Villa v Newcastle United line-ups
Aston Villa: Bizot, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Onana, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Wright, Pau, Maatsen, Buendia, Malen, Guessand, Iling-Junior, Jimoh.
Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Gordon, Barnes, Elanga.
Subs: Ramsdale, Hall, Botman, Thiaw, Krafth, Osula, Murphy, Seung-soo, Miley.
Premier League: Aston Villa v Newcastle
Villa Park is the venue for a match between two sides whose respective coaches whose pre-season preparations have been far from ideal. In his pre-match press conference yesterday, Unai Emery could be heard bemoaning the manner in which Aston Villa’s activity in the transfer market has been hamstrung by profit and sutainability rules, a state of affairs that prompted the Spaniard to tell reporters that his team have little or no chance of finishing in the top seven of the Premier League.
Villa’s only major investment this summer has been on the Nice Striker Evan Guessand, while the Turkish centre-back Yasin Ozcan and a couple of reserve goalkeepers have also arrived at Villa Park. Ozcan has already been loaned out to Anderlecht but Villa are hopeful of getting Marco Asensio back in on loan from Paris Saint-Germain after his productive spell in the Midlands last season.
His opposite number, Eddie Howe, has had similar issues but while Newcastle have missed out on several high profile targets, they have managed to bring Malick Thiaw (AC Milan), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton), Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest) and Antonio Cordero (free after leaving Malaga) to St James’ Park. They are also understood to be in the process of wrapping up a deal to sign Jacob Ramsey from today’s opponents. Villa are in desperate need of the £40m profit they’ll generate from the sale of a highly regarded academy graduate to help their bean-counters balance the books.
Howe has also been forced to deal with the petulant and unseemly strop thrown by his star striker Alexander Isak, who is hankering after a move to Liverpool and has made it clear he has no intention of pulling on a Newcastle shirt again despite having three years left on his contract. Howe admitted yesterday that control of the situation is “not in my hands” but said he could envisage a scenario where Isak plays in his side again. It is one that would almost certainly involve no end of grovelling to unimpressed teammates, other club staff and fans from the Swede but we are unlikely to see any sign of him at Villa Park today.
With so much (or little, in the case of Villa) going on behind the scenes, it is to be presumed both managers will welcome the opportunity to put their off-field woes behind them and get down to the comparatively uncomplicated task of playing football. Kick-off is at 12.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up. Villa will be out for a modicum revenge over the team that pipped them to the final Champions League qualification place on the final day of last season.
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