Aston Villa entertained Newcastle United at Villa Park earlier tonight hoping to pick up a win in front of their home supporters. The Villans made a dominant start to the game and took the lead in the 32nd minute via Conor Hourihane’s curled finish. Anwar El Ghazi doubled his team’s advantage just four minutes later when he scored from close range which gave Dean Smith’s side a healthy two-goal lead at half-time.
Both sides fought tooth and nail in the second half but couldn’t add to the goal tally as the contest finished 2-0 in favour of the West Midlands outfit.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the match against the Magpies.
GK: Tom Heaton – 8/10
The Villa keeper accurately distributed the ball out from the back and pulled off a world-class stop to deny Allan Saint-Maximin early in the second half.
RB: Frederic Guilbert – 8/10
The French full-back put in a tireless shift down the right flank. He did his job well defensively and looked solid throughout the encounter.
CB: Ezri Konsa Ngoyo – 7/10
He was calm when in possession of the ball and came close to scoring with his header. Overall, it was a good night’s work from him as he ended up securing the vital clean sheet.
CB: Tyrone Mings – 6/10
Mings was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball and was prone to making a few mistakes tonight. However, he kept battling hard and managed to keep the Newcastle attackers at bay for the full 90 minutes.
LB: Matt Targett – 7/10
The former Southampton defender began the match well, but his impact in the Magpies half faded in the second half.
CM: John McGinn – 6/10
The Scottish midfielder looked average at best during the game. He was unusually quiet on the ball and struggled to create too many opportunities going forward.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7/10
The Brazilian was always looking to get involved in the game and came close to scoring as well. He did enough work defensively to secure a shut-out in front of the Villa fans.
CM: Conor Hourihane – 9/10
He gave his team the lead with a beautifully curled effort in the 32nd minute. Hourihane also picked out El Ghazi with an excellent pass in the lead-up to Villa’s second goal.
RW: Anwar El Ghazi – 7.5/10
El Ghazi kept his composure to score the all-important second goal of the contest which put some daylight between the two teams.
ST: Wesley – 6.5/10
The Villa centre-forward worked his socks off for the benefit of his team but was guilty of missing a sitter during the match.
LW: Jack Grealish – 8.5/10
The Villans skipper made a triumphant return to the first-team as he put in a dazzling display versus the Magpies tonight. He was at the centre of every good move that the home side could conjure up in the final third.
Substitutes:
CM: Henri Lansbury – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
