Newcastle United entertained Aston Villa at St. James’ Park earlier today as they hoped to secure a good result in front of their home fans. The Magpies made a decent start to the game and got their noses ahead in the 35th minute courtesy of Kieran Trippier’s deflected free-kick. The Tyneside outfit went into the half-time break 1-0 up on the scoreline.
Eddie Howe’s players defended their narrow lead well in the second 45 minutes and managed to grind out a 1-0 win at home.
Let’s take a look at how each Newcastle player performed during the contest against the Villans.
GK: Martin Dubravka – 6.5/10
The Magpies goalie had to make one good save in the game and earned an easy clean sheet at St. James’ Park.
RB: Kieran Trippier – 8/10
He was a bit fortunate to score with his deflected free-kick in the first half. Trippier won a few aerial duels and was tidy at the back. However, he was replaced just after the half-time break.
CB: Fabian Schar – 7/10
Schar dealt with mostly everything that the Villa attackers threw at him. He will be pleased with the clean sheet today.
CB: Dann Burn – 6.5/10
He cleared the danger when required and put in a good display on the defensive third of the pitch.
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LB: Javier Manquillo – 6.5/10
The Spaniard didn’t do much wrong when defending inside his half but offered very little going forward during his time on the field.
CM: Joe Willock – 7/10
Willock did his fair share of defending and was lively with the ball at his feet.
CM: Jonjo Shelvey – 6.5/10
The English midfield ace protected his backline well but lacked invention with his passing.
CM: Joelinton – 7/10
He tracked back and helped his teammates out on the defensive end of the field. However, Joelinton failed to influence the game in the final third.
RW: Ryan Fraser – 6.5/10
Fraser made a couple of decent chances for his teammates but didn’t get a sniff at goal.
ST: Chris Wood – 7/10
He caused a few problems for the Aston Villa centre-backs but didn’t do enough to register a goal.
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin – 7/10
His pace and dribbling ability caused all kinds of headaches for the opposition. He even engineered a couple of meaningful openings in the final third.
Substitutes:
RB: Emil Krafth – 6.5/10
He had a couple of bright moments in the opposition half.
LB: Paul Dummett – 6/10
Dummett cleared the danger when needed.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – N/A
He didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
