Aston Villa played 24 minutes plus stoppage time of their season opener against Newcastle United with ten men. But whose fault was it?
Villa were reduced by the red card shown to centre-back Ezri Konsa in the 66th minute and it was the kind of dismissal that ultimately comes down to a choice on the part of the player.
Like goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in the final game of last season against Manchester United, Konsa had to make a choice in a split-second and decided to take the card instead of allowing Newcastle a clear run at goal.
And, like Martínez, this wasn’t an easy choice to make. Konsa had to process fewer pieces of information than his goalkeeper last season but it’s no time to be making a judgement call about Anthony Gordon’s ability to go on and score past Marco Bizot.
I’d have backed Gordon to score. That doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with Konsa’s decision to bring him down – I don’t – but even at a day’s remove there’s no real consensus among supporters.
Let’s take a closer look.
Breaking down Konsa’s red card
Konsa committed the foul but the transition that gave Newcastle the ball barely five seconds earlier happened at the edge of the Magpies’ penalty area.
In this still, Matty Cash on the right has just received the ball from John McGinn in front of him. He pushes it past his man towards the byline and pulls a cross back towards the edge of the box.
There was nobody there to receive the ball. It was a poor cross selection but it’s too easy to make Cash a scapegoat for everything and it’s a shame he’s being pilloried for this sending off after a pretty solid performance otherwise.
Aston Villa red card v Newcastle United
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The other players circled above are Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara – Villa’s two deepest-lying midfielders.
You could make a case that they shouldn’t both have gambled after this point. If Onana stays, he’s in prime position to meet the cross. At worst, he’s there to smother the counter-attack. Really, the point here is that Villa’s only players behind the ball are Lucas Digne and the central defenders.
Villa are committed. Blame Cash for turning that into a liability if you want, I suppose.
Aston Villa red card v Newcastle United
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The next still shows the moments after Cash’s cross curved towards the edge of the box and was picked up by Anthony Elanga. This is where Villa’s luck was out and Newcastle’s set-up couldn’t have been more perfect. Elanga and Gordon are lightning-quick and the situation above developed in the blink of an eye.
Villa were dead as soon as they coughed up the ball
What this still doesn’t show is the reason Konsa and Tyrone Mings aren’t in the first frame but are in the second despite Newcastle now having the ball.
As soon as the cross bends towards the edge of the box behind the Villa players, Gordon takes a couple of steps towards his own goal and drags the central defenders with him. It’s an excellent piece of play.
We’re now in a situation in which two of the fastest players in the Premier League have much more than half the pitch to run into and, once Mings and Digne look to close off Elanga’s running route, only Konsa to beat. By the time Elanga takes his first touch just before this still, Gordon has turned on his heels and he’s gone.
Aston Villa red card v Newcastle United
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Above, this is the moment Gordon passes Konsa. The defender is not only the deepest Villa player but the only one with any chance of either cutting out Elanga’s pass or competing with Gordon.
Elanga has taken Digne out of contention by driving in-field. Mings looks to get round on the cover in case anything goes wrong from a Newcastle perspective but he knows he’s not catching Gordon if Elanga gets the pass right.
Sometimes, the opposition just gets it right
Villa share a collective responsibility for the situation that unfolded prior to this red card but, for me, the credit belongs mostly with Elanga. Newcastle’s new signing reads the play at the back and turns defence into attack in no time at all.
He picks exactly the right pass at exactly the right time and plays it to perfection. From there, Villa are doomed to a red card or an extremely ominous one-on-one.
Aston Villa red card v Newcastle United
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The still above shows the foul. Gordon is clear and flying. Konsa can only keep up long enough to yank him from behind. Mings, Digne and every other outfield Villa player is out of the game.
Gordon is going to get away and shoot. That’s beyond question and Konsa can see that better than any of us. He makes his choice. There’s another still below but, honestly, Villa are already knackered before Konsa commits the foul.
Aston Villa red card v Newcastle United
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This is speculation more than anything but the final still shows Bizot for the first time and I think he’s in the right place. As Gordon falls, he’s on the edge of his box. He was outside it very briefly as the makeshift striker outpaced Konsa but immediately retreated and reset 18 yards from goal.
Bizot’s job at this stage is to assume Gordon gets away and to balance the possibility of getting chipped and the need to narrow Gordon’s angles. It doesn’t much matter now but if he moves towards Gordon again from the situation above, he gives himself the best possible chance of preventing a goal or allowing an unlikely recovery from a defender.
I don’t think it’s fair to expect Konsa to calculate this, but it’s worth giving Bizot another nod of approval and acknowledging that I was as convinced Elanga would score one-on-one in the early minutes as I was that Gordon would score here. Bizot kept him out.