Aston Villa 0 Newcastle 0: Player ratings
We rate the players after Aston Villa's opening day 0-0 draw with Newcastle.


Marco Bizot
If there were any nerves on his Premier League debut, they were sorted by the early save. In addition to the key stops he showed assured handling.
Encouraging 7
Matty Cash
Marked down for the poor cross which led up to Konsa’s dismissal but he put his body on the line afterward. No faulting his defensive work.
Committed 7
Ezri Konsa
Was having his normal, assured performance before making the decision to pull Gordon back. Will be missed at Brentford.
Off 5
Tyrone Mings
Got into a tangle early when he tumbled over Digne but organised the backline well after that, particularly alongside makeshift colleague Kamara.
Solid 7
Lucas Digne
Missed Tonali’s through ball which allowed Elanga to race through early. Strong defensively after that but not much of a factor in the final third.
Gritty 7
Boubacar Kamara
A mixed performance which featured some key challenges but some frustratingly poor distribution too. Did well at centre-back.
Mixed 6
Amadou Onana
Summed up Villa’s all-round performance with some great work off the ball but disappointing work on it. Showed an impressive workrate.
Busy 6
John McGinn
Delivered the cross from which Kamara should really have put Villa ahead early in the second half. Worked tirelessly.
Graft 6
Youri Tielemans
Villa’s most assured player on the ball but they could not get him involved enough. Seemed to lose some of his effectiveness in an advanced role.
Stifled 6
Morgan Rogers
No faulting the effort but Rogers’ performance was epitomised in stoppage time when he twice managed to tackle himself inside the space of just 60 seconds.
Erratic 5
Ollie Watkins
Sent his one chance of the match straight at Nick Pope. Only once got to face Dan Burn one-on-one but couldn’t take advantage. A frustrating day.
Shackled 5
Substitutes
Donyell Malen (for McGinn, 84) Subs not used: Torres, Maatsen, Bogarde, Buendia, Jimoh-Aloba, Iling-Junior, Guessand, Wright (gk).
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