Ten-man Aston Villa held Newcastle to a 0-0 draw in their opening game of the Premier League season despite Ezri Konsa’s second-half red card.
The Magpies were the better side for much of the encounter at Villa Park, going close through Anthony Elanga, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes but were unable to make their dominance, and the extra man, pay.
The game’s key highlight occured midway through the second half when Konsa pulled Gordon back when he was through on goal, resulting in successive red cards for Villa following Emiliano Martinez’s dismissal in their final Premier League game last season.
Aston Villa v Newcastle
Anthony Elanga could have opened his account only three minutes into his Newcastle career after racing clear following a Tyrone Mings slip but fellow debutant in the Villa goal Marco Bizot saved from point-blank range in what was a fast-paced opening to the game.
The visitors remained the bigger threat in the opening stages, with Elanga mis-hitting a shot after finding space in the box and Anthony Gordon heading over from close range.
Villa struggled to click in the first half, giving the ball away several times as they struggled to cope with the pressure put on them by the Magpies, who will have been lifted by their display after a tumultuous summer amid the speculation over absent striker Alexander Isak’s future.
While Newcastle were undoubtedly on top, Villa managed to keep the scores level going into the break but Unai Emery will have no doubt been wanting a fast improvement in the second half.
Konsa sees red early in second half
Villa started the second half with much more intensity with Boubacar Kamara heading straight at Nick Pope, before Ollie Watkins did the same with an effort.
But their hopes took a huge blow when Ezri Konsa was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he brought down Gordon when he was through on goal.
The Magpies gained momentum from that moment and went close again but a goal-saving block from Matty Cash denied Harvey Barnes from volleying home.
For Villa, the priority in the closing stages looked to be to hold on, with Kamara stepping into Konsa’s position at centre-back looking assured.
