Unai Emery speaks following Aston Villa’s draw with Newcastle United.placeholder image
Unai Emery speaks following Aston Villa’s draw with Newcastle United. | Getty Images
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon have addressed Ezri Konsa’s red card during the 0-0 draw at Villa Park.
Villa and Newcastle opened their Premier League season with a point apiece but both teams left the field frustrated that it wasn’t more.
The Magpies went into the game without an established striker in Alexander Isak’s absence, so it was of little surprise that Eddie Howe’s side struggled in front of goal.
Anthony Gordon was tasked with leading the line without Isak. While the natural winger didn’t score, he was heavily involved in a key moment in the match as Konsa pulled him down as he broke clear on goal.
Referee Craig Pawson showed Konsa a straight red card for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
The Premier League’s Match Centre explained the decision in a brief statement that was broadcast in the stadiuim: “The referee’s call of red card to Konsa for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) was checked and confirmed by VAR.”
Unai Emery and Anthony Gordon react to Ezri Konsa red card
Following the match, Aston Villa boss Emery said: “It is difficult to anticipate which is best in that moment. This action for Konsa, I can't say anything about this decision.
"It was a tough match. After the red card there was more necessity to defend, but we responded to all the issues on the field.
"I am not happy with one point at home. But against a team like Newcastle, they made a lot of good chances in the first half. Second half we dominated more, created chances. But the red card changed the match completely. The players responded fantastically, the point more or less is fair.
"It was a tough match. After the red card there was more necessity to defend, but we responded to all the issues on the field."
While the red card saw the momentum shift in Newcastle’s favour in the closing stages, Gordon was left frustrated at being denied a clear opportunity to score.
He said: “It's so frustrating. I don't understand it from a defender's point of view. Ez [Konsa] is my mate actually, so it's quite funny.
“If I'm a defender, I'd probably rather let them score than get a red card because you stay on the pitch and you still get that chance. He's quite quick, so he could have actually caught up to me in the end. He took a decision and not like I do, I just didn't score in the end, so it wasn't very good.”
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Eddie Howe’s ‘mixed feelings’ on NUFC draw
Addressing the point, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: “Slightly mixed feelings in the respect that we were disappointed we didn't win, because I thought we deserved to, but very, very pleased and proud of the group of players that gave everything today and delivered a very, very strong performance, I thought.
“Especially in the first half, we were aggressive, we were everything that we'd want to be in that first period. Dominant, I felt. the goals were missing, which is unfortunate timing, really, from my perspective, but I couldn't be prouder of the group, really.”
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