After a turbulent summer full of transfer sagas and a certain sulking Swede, we could finally stop the talk off the pitch for 90 minutes and focus back to matters on it.
Aston Villa stood in our way and, in all honesty, I woke up this morning believing a point would be a decent result considering our total lack of strikers, the Alexander Isak-shaped cloud of negativity hovering over our summer and the opposition; a Villa side who beat us 4-1 in this fixture over the final weeks of 2024/25.
Fast forward to my post-match feelings and I’m slightly dissapointed with a draw, which says everything you need to know about today’s performance.
Missed chances will make the highlight reels on Match of the Day, whether it’s Anthony Elanga’s one-vs-one, Anthony Gordon’s free header over or our failure to break Villa down after a second half red card saw them sit deep and protect a point.
However, all things considered, that was a hugely encouraging 90 minutes of football that bodes well for the remainder of the season; providing we can find a resolution to this messy striker saga ASAP.
We looked determined to prove a point, organised, fit, dominated possession for much of the game and barely gave Villa a sniff for much of the game, with 33-year-old duo Dan Burn and Fabian Schar both exceptional against Ollie Watkins.
Sandro Tonali bossed a brilliant first half – we had 60% of the ball and eight shots to Villa’s zero in the opening 45 – picking up where he left off last season with that ability to protect the back four, put out fires, pounce on loose balls first and provide quality in possession, highlighted by his earlier through ball that Elanga should’ve finished within two minutes!
We controlled a high-intensity affair, with the team seeming determined to shut out the noise and doing anything but sulk; unlike our star striker who could’ve kicked off 2025/26 with a goal or two had he not thrown his toys out of the pram over the past month.
A fine will almost certainly follow now Isak has failed to show up (again), but his absence has also cost Newcastle. Howe insists it’s “too easy” to say we’d have won with him in the side, but I’m convinced we’d be returning to Tyneside with three precious points over a Premier League rival had he been there to finish the big chances we created.
Elanga’s debut will be remember by many for his missed one-vs-one and mixed final product, but he had the beating of Lucas Digne, showed lightning pace, linked nicely at times and produced the driving run and perfectly weighted pass into Gordon leading to Ezri Konsa’s red card. Give him a striker to find and he’ll cause chaos for opposition defences.
But that is the key, the striker situation. For all of Gordon’s pressing and Elanga’s directness, the big problem remains clear; the lack of No.9 to provide that moment of quality and for target for our chief creators to find.
So, while there is mixture of frustration at a game we should’ve won and encouragement from a strong performance against quality opposition, I struggle to come away from that feeling downbeat.
It highlights the need to sort out the Isak situation – one way or another – but with Yoane Wissa next to sign and quality options like Hall, Botman, Thiaw and Ramsey still to come, it’s given me reason to believe we might just be alright this season, especially with Eddie Howe at the helm.
**Starting XI (4-3-3):** Pope – Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento – Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton – Elanga, Gordon, Barnes.
**Subs:** Ramsdale, Hall, Botman, Thiaw, Krafth, Osula, Murphy, Seung-soo, Miley.
**Aston Villa XI:** Bizot – Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne – Kamara, Tielemans, Onana – McGinn, Rogers – Watkins.