Aston Villa player ratings as Premier League season begins with draw against Newcastle United
Villa finish with ten men again and settle for a point
Well, that was a dreadful start. 0-0 with Newcastle United might be fine on paper but that performance left an enormous amount to be desired.
Aston Villa were up against it for long parts of the game, firstly through their own performance and then as a result of the sending off of defender Ezri Konsa.
Villa played much of the second half with ten men in the first game of 2025/26 just as they did in the last game of 2024/25. Again, the red card offence was denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Here are the ratings:
Marco Bizot - 8
Great one-on-one save from Anthony Elanga after third-minute defensive mix-up. Called into action again after quarter of an hour when Villa failed to deal with a free kick, saving well from a deflected shot. Flawless handling on debut but didn’t have as many saves to make as Newcastle would have wanted.
Matty Cash - 6
Made an important block to keep Anthony Gordon out after 26 minutes. Dealt well with Joelinton one-on-one a few minutes later and reacted really well to thwart Tino Livramento and Harvey Barnes just before half time. Blocked shots more than once. Next to no meaningful attacking impact.
Ezri Konsa - 3
Conceded possession in Villa’s defensive third late in the first half, generating one of many threatening situations. Quality ball into the right channel for Matty Cash on the hour. Sent off for fouling Gordon in the 66th minute when the Newcastle forward was through on goal.
Tyrone Mings - 6
Determined defending and useful on the cover behind both Digne and Konsa early on. Looked to go over the press with a long pass forward for Watkins but the bounce was too high for the striker. Composed when Villa were down to ten men.
Lucas Digne - 5
Positive on the ball and competitive against the threat of Anthony Elanga early on, before getting caught up in a substandard Villa performance. Miscontrolled an easy ball in the middle of the first half to end a promising attack.
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Boubacar Kamara - 6
Usual quality out of possession and tough in the tackle but not immune to Villa’s poor passing in the first half. Fabulous pressure as Villa’s furthest player forward to regain possession from a lost cause late in the first half. Influence in possession grew. Dropped in at the back after the red card.
Youri Tielemans - 5
Snapping in early in midfield, leading by example, but faded as Villa ceded control of the game. Little opportunity to get involved in support of Watkins while Villa were playing poorly in a dreadful first half. Whipped in a fantastic cross early in the second half but nobody attacked it. Otherwise, no impact after the break.
John McGinn - 5
Bang at it from kick-off but did his best work early in the game in his own defensive third. Gave the ball away twice in the first half with dreadful passes. Picked out a lovely right-footed cross for Kamara to have Villa’s first attempt as the skipper started to look more like himself. Replaced by Donyell Malen in the 84th minute.
Amadou Onana - 6
Nice early pass into the feet of Rogers to set Villa on the attack. Some impressive play in possession in both halves but guilty of giving the ball away too. Real presence in the air on the few occasions Newcastle had to go long. Pulled one hell of a shift in the second half.
Morgan Rogers - 4
Terrific early footwork to beat a man but too quiet in the first quarter of the game and gave up possession in a dangerous area with a loose pass with 19 minutes played. Knocked off the ball too easily.
Superb pass with the outside of his boot to release Watkins in the first half. The less said about the next attempt the better. Invisible in the second half until tackling himself to kill a Villa counter-attack.
Ollie Watkins - 5
Not in the game at all, albeit through no fault of his own. Full of graft as usual but Fabian Schär had a relatively easy afternoon for the most part until Watkins pulled out into the left channel more in the second half.
Substitutes
Donyell Malen (for McGinn, 84) - late change. N/A