A night to remember for Newcastle fans and arguably our biggest result of the result, as Eddie Howe’s high intensity Mags beat Aston Villa 3-1. Here’s our marks out of 10 from Villa Park:
Dubravka – 7/10 – Braved an injury to pull of some acrobatics to deny Watkins, even if he was beaten soon after. Another solid display from the Slovakian.
Trippier – 8/10 – Amid criticism of his form and speculation he may have had his head turned by Bayern, Trippier quietly and professionally had a brilliant game. Back to his best?
Schar – 9/10 – A brace from centre half. And it could have been a hattrick. Superb at both ends and wont his battle with Watkins. Is he the best £3m ever spent in football? Class personified and handsomeness unmatched.
Botman – 7.5/10 – Most of Villa’s chances came down our left side, but Botman kept them quiet until the 70th minute. Showed his composure to help us play out from the back.
Burn -8/10 – Had a storming first-half, reading the play so well to keep Villa at bay. Looked more exposed when Villa brought on the pacey Bailey.
Bruno – 8/10 – He draws a lot of fouls and gets opposition wound up. Glorious housery on display, along with some lovely cross-field passes and the ability to keep the ball under pressure.
Longstaff – 6/10 – Should have scored in the dying moments to make it 4-1 and was the least effective of our midfield three, but put in a huge shift and made some important recovery runs.
Miley – 7/10 – Came off in the last 15 minutes. His running beyond in the first-half was exciting and he linked up nicely down our left, but his impact waned as time went on. Still a strong display from the teenager.
Murphy – 7/10 – Dubious goals panel will give the third as an own goal, but can we all agree it was Murphy’s? Got in behind a lot, gives us width and is a joy to watch when he is having fun.
Gordon – 8/10 – Moved to centre forward after Isak’s sub. His energy kept the press going and he ran Villa ragged at times. Isn’t he brilliant to watch this season? The perfect Eddie Howe player and his movement is much improved.
Isak – 6/10 – Came off injured before half time and didn’t have too many chances to impact the game.
Almiron (43’) – 7/10 – When Almiron plays well the front three looks unstoppable. Lively pressing down our left and a delicious first time ball for our third of the game.
Livramento (75’) – 7/10 – Came on with Villa in the ascendancy. Villa didn’t score again and he helped us cope with Bailey’s pace and trickery.
Krafth (99′) – N/A
Nice to see the coaching staff using some common sense tactically at last and tightening things up when Bailey was introduced enabling us to close the game out.
Very unexpected but welcome result which should do wonders for confidence.
Injuries are more than unbelievable and they need to be looked into.
Joseph(Quote)