Premier League news: Champions League–chasing Aston Villa, Newcastle United play out dull draw
Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Newcastle United on Saturday as neither team could find the necessary breakthrough to start the new Premier League season with all three points.
For a fixture that tends to live long in the memory for being a high-scoring affair, this edition ended up a bit doom and gloom.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce reviews a dull game at Villa Park.
Underwhelming result for both
After all the excitement building up to this game, both teams failed to produce the magic on the pitch.
It was, taking into account recent years’ results, a clash that had looked on paper like it was going to be a high-scoring fixture.
But that couldn’t have been further from the truth, unfortunately.
Villa were very sloppy in possession in the first half, with almost every pass towards the forwards misplaced.
Ollie Watkins was the willing runner out of the three attackers, to be fair, but he just couldn’t make anything stick.
In contrast, Newcastle were slightly more threatening as Anthonies Elanga and Gordon caused the hosts a whole heap of problems.
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Great debut for Bizot
34-year-old goalkeeper Marco Bizot made his debut for Villa, with Emiliano Martínez still suspended due to last season’s red card against Manchester United.
The debutant was very busy in goal and did not look out of place whatsoever after saving a few shots.
In the end, the Dutchman was a contender for man of the match, which speaks volumes about the excitement value of the game considering that nobody scored any goals.
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Tielemans required in midfield
An argument could be made that Unai Emery should have started Youri Tielemans in a double pivot with Boubacar Kamara because of how well it worked last season.
In addition, when Tielemans played more advanced, the defenders and midfield two struggled to get the ball to the Belgium midfielder and any other forwards out wide.
Newcastle, it must be said, have a lot of height and strength in their midfield – something Emery tried to counter with Amadou Onana.
The game plan did not work and Villa almost seemed to play better when Ezri Konsa was sent off and Tielemans had to drop deeper into midfield.
Indeed, the moment of the game was when Tielemans played in the perfect cross from a corner, but sadly nobody gambled to get a touch on it.
Villa need more signings
In the second half, the intensity massively dropped, and it looked like everyone was happy with a draw.
Considering the upheaval for both teams during the summer transfer window, perhaps that was not a bad result for either side.
The draw will, however, likely inspire the two clubs to complete some more signings before the transfer deadline in order to help them improve throughout the season.
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