Newcastle United half-time player ratings v Aston Villa: Anthony Elanga 'lacked quality' & 'all action' 8/10
Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United: Here’s how Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Anthony Elanga and co have fared at Villa Park.
Newcastle United are drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa in their Premier League opener at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
Eddie Howe handed a full Newcastle debut to summer signing Anthony Elanga, while new arrivals Aaron Ramsdale, Malick Thiaw and 18-year-old Park Seung-soo were named on the bench.
Elanga had a chance to give Newcastle the lead inside three minutes but was denied by Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot.
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Here are the half-time player ratings from the match...
Nick Pope - 6
Reacted well to come off his line when needed. Solid distribution bar the obligatory straight into the stands clearance.
Kieran Trippier - 6
Had a couple of shaky moments against the pace of Rogers, but often recovered well. Had several set-piece deliveries that didn’t lead to any chances.
Fabian Schar - 7
Put in an important challenge early on to start a Newcastle attack that led to Elanga’s chance. Beaten for pace by Morgan Rogers when dragged out of position. Blazed a shot over the bar before the half-hour mark.
Dan Burn - 7
Put in some good challenges and won some important headers. Stood up to the physical challenge and not caught out by Villa’s pace so far.
Tino Livramento - 6
An improvement on his last pre-season outing at left-back. Good energy and kept John McGinn relatively quiet.
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Sandro Tonali - 8
Won the ball back countless times to put Newcastle on the front foot. Picking up where he left off last season with an all action display.
Bruno Guimaraes - 6
A little clumsy in possession at times but was always showing for the ball under pressure. Better out of possession with his positional discipline.
Joelinton - 6
In and out of the game, trying to impose his physicality on Villa, but has had a quiet opening 45. Booked.
Anthony Elanga - 6
Had a golden opportunity to open his account just three minutes into his debut but was denied one-on-one by Marco Bizot in the Villa goal. Showed a great turn of pace, but should have done better with his finish. Dragged a volleyed effort wide 10 minutes later. Got several crosses away but couldn’t pick out a teammate. Heavily involved but lacked cutting-edge quality.
Harvey Barnes - 7
Put in a teasing ball for Gordon but the makeshift Newcastle forward couldn’t get a proper connection on it. Solid.
Anthony Gordon - 7
Headed well over from a Barnes cross. Forced a good stop from Bizot with a low drive from the edge of the box. Showed great work-rate to track back and challenge Tielemans, stopping a Villa counter-attack.