Newcastle United played hosts to Aston Villa at St. James’ Park earlier today looking to pick up a win at home and continue their winning run in the Premier League. Both teams fought tooth and nail in the first half but couldn’ manage to find the back of the net.
The Magpies were more adventurous in the second 45 minutes and finally made the breakthrough in the 68th minute when Dwight Gayle came off the bench to score the opener via a lifted finish. However, the Villans managed to crawl themselves back into the game just 15 minutes later via Ahmed Elmohamady’s goal. The match ended with both teams sharing the spoils as they fought out a hard-fought 1-1 draw after the full-time whistle.
Let’s take a look at how each Newcastle player fared during the contest versus the Villans.
GK: Martin Dubravka – 5.5/10
He hardly had any save to make in the game and was solid throughout the 90 minutes. However, he will be disappointed for conceding Aston Villa’s equaliser which ruined his hopes of a clean sheet.
RB: Javier Manquillo – 6/10
The Spanish full-back defended valiantly at the back and made a couple of promising runs in the final third. However, his final delivery was poor in what was a game of fine margins.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles – 6/10
The English centre-back got cautioned for dragging down Jack Grealish at the hour mark. Otherwise, he had a relatively comfortable game at the heart of Steve Bruce’s defence.
CB: Federico Fernandez – 6/10
Just like his centre-back partner, he got booked as well after making a poor challenge on Keinan Davis. He was defensively solid and tried his best to help his team get over the line in the second 45.
LB: Danny Rose – 6/10
Rose performed his defensive duties well but failed to make a meaningful contribution going forward.
RM: Matt Ritchie – 7.5/10
He was a constant menace for the Villa defenders after causing all sorts of problems for them during the game. The Magpies playmaker tested Ørjan Nyland with a few powerful shots and was also responsible for creating some decent openings in the opposition half. However, he will be disheartened for not picking up a goal or an assist today.
CM: Jonjo Shelvey – 5/10
The former Liverpool midfielder struggled to cope the runs of the opposition midfielders and failed to make an impact going forward.
CM: Isaac Hayden – 5/10
He worked hard but didn’t provide anything of note in the attacking third during his time on the field. Hayden got subbed late in the game.
LM: Allan Saint-Maximin – 7.5/10
He was Newcastle’s best hope for a goal during the 90 minutes. Saint-Maximin’s pace gave a lot of headaches to Dean Smith’s defenders out on the wide areas.
CAM: Miguel Almiron – 6/10
The South American winger showcased a few moments of promise but struggled to come up with a telling contribution in the final third.
ST: Joelinton – 5/10
The Brazilian striker got some decent chances to score but was lacklustre inside the opposition penalty box.
Substitutes:
ST: Andy Carroll – 7.5/10
The English centre-forward was a real handful for the opposition defenders and did well to set-up Gayle who made no mistake with his attempt.
ST: Dwight Gayle – 8/10
He made an immediate impact after coming off the bench when he scored in the 68th minute via a smart finish.
CM: Nabil Bentaleb – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
RM: Valentino Lazaro – N/A
The Austrian provided some fresh legs down the right flank.
