Newcastle United player ratings v Aston Villa: 9/10 'colossus' & 'frustrating' Anthony Elanga

Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle United player ratings: Here’s how Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Elanga and co fared at Villa Park.

Newcastle United drew 0-0 with 10-man Aston Villa in their Premier League opener at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.

Newcastle United player ratings v Aston Villa. | Getty Images

placeholder image — Newcastle United player ratings v Aston Villa. | Getty Images

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. The sides went in goalless at the break.

Villa were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when Ezri Konsa pulled down Anthony Gordon as he broke clear on goal. For the second successive season, referee Craig Pawson had sent a player off on the opening weekend, only this time it wasn’t Newcastle’s Fabian Schar.

Newcastle couldn’t make their numerical advantage count in the final 20 minutes as

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Here are the Newcastle United player ratings from the match...

Nick Pope - 7

Reacted well to come off his line when needed. Solid distribution, bar the obligatory straight into the stands clearance. Made his first meaningful save shortly after half-time to catch Boubacar Kamara’s header. Got down well to stop Donyell Malen late on.

Kieran Trippier - 7

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 - 9

Put in some good challenges and won some important headers. Stood up to the physical challenge and not caught out by Villa’s pace. A colossus at the back.

Tino Livramento - 7

An improvement on his last pre-season outing at left-back. Good energy and kept John McGinn relatively quiet. Put a dangerous ball across goal late on but Gordon couldn’t quite get it.

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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, despite being slightly less influential in the second half.

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 in the first half but improved on the ball in the second as more space opened up for him. Got the ball in some good areas but refrained from pulling the trigger, opting to try and find a teammate instead.

Joelinton - 6

In and out of the game, he tried to impose his physicality on Villa but lacked quality on the ball. 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. Heavily involved but lacked cutting-edge quality. A frustrating debut but there were certainly some promising signs. Played Gordon through in the build-up to Villa’s red card.

Harvey Barnes - 6

Put in a teasing ball for Gordon but the makeshift Newcastle forward couldn’t get a proper connection on it. Connected well with a volley in the second half but it was blocked by Matty Cash, who was left in some discomfort. Got the ball in his trademark area late on but got the shot all wrong.

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. Showed good pace and tenacity to break clear on goal which led to Konsa’s red card. A hard-working attacking display, just lacking the killer instinct in front of goal.