· 16 August 2025, 17:55
**Newcastle United drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in the season opener today, but in truth, it should have been a Newcastle victory.**
The Magpies dominated the game, and by the end of the first half Newcastle had had eight shots to Villa's zero, although only two attempts were on target.
That pretty much summed up Newcastle on the day. The build-up play was excellent, slick and creative, but as was the case throughout pre-season, there was just a lack of cutting edge when it came to the finish.
Of course, playing without a recognised striker certainly didn't help, but the front three, particularly Anthony Gorodn and Anthony Elanga, missed some great opportunities to grab a much-needed goal.
Eddie Howe praised his players after a good performance at Villa Park
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Speaking after the game with TNT Sports, Eddie Howe was asked if he was pleased with the result, and while he said he was, he did say he feels we should have won.
> "Yes, I think we're pleased with a point, but I think the way that we played, we deserved more.
>
> "I thought we were excellent in the first half, especially. Magnificent performance. Dominated most aspects of the game, just didn't score. Second half, probably until the red card, I don't think that was our best period in the game, but then we came strong again with 11 v 10, but I can't fault the players' attitude, what they've given today I thought was magnificent."
Did you know that Alexander Isak is causing problems for Newcastle?
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Eddie seemed to be in good spirits after the game, despite everything that's going on behind the scenes, which TNT Sports made sure we didn't forget with Howe being asked yet again about Alexander Isak.
> "It's a difficult one to answer. I hope it's resolved quickly. It's news around us all the time, rather than focusing on what we need to do on the pitch."
As much as we are all sick of hearing about Isak and writing about him, it's got to be worse for Eddie Howe being right in the middle of it and being asked about it constantly when he's got other stuff to be getting on with.