Newcastle United were unable to capitalise on Ezri Konsa’s red card as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa.
Missing striker Alexander Isak, who was omitted from the matchday squad amid speculation over his future at the club, Newcastle had the better of the chances at Villa Park on Saturday, with Anthony Elanga passing up a golden opportunity early on.
Konsa’s 66th-minute dismissal for a denial of a goalscoring opportunity for Anthony Gordon further buoyed Newcastle’s hopes, yet the visitors could not find a way through.
Villa had shown some promise between the interval and Konsa’s red card, though it was a largely underwhelming display from Unai Emery’s team, who did not have a single shot in the first half.
Coming away with a share of the points at least showed Villa’s resilience, while Newcastle may wonder what might have been had Isak been available.
How the match unfolded
Elanga could have got off to the ideal start in a Newcastle shirt when he raced through in the third minute, but Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot – making his Premier League debut in the absence of the suspended Emiliano Martinez – made a fantastic save.
Gordon, filling in up top in place of Isak, headed over Harvey Barnes’ cross soon after, before the England international saw a deflected attempt palmed wide by Bizot.
In the second half, Boubacar Kamara headed straight at Nick Pope after being picked out brilliantly by John McGinn, yet Villa soon found themselves up against it.
Elanga threaded a superb ball in behind for Gordon to run on to – Konsa dragged the forward back and referee Craig Pawson showed the first red card of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Matty Cash made a superb block from a fierce Barnes volley, while Tino Livramento cushioned a volleyed cross just out of Gordon’s reach as Villa held firm.
Villa’s shaky start
Villa won the corresponding fixture 4-1 last season, in what looked set to be a huge result in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
But it was not to be for Unai Emery's team, who missed out on a place at Europe’s top table on the final day of last season, and they have been unable to strengthen their squad as much as Emery would have liked over the off-season.
And they looked sluggish from the off, sloppily turning over possession and offering little coming forward in the first half.
They came to life after the break; Kamara might have done better with his header from McGinn’s right-wing centre, while Ollie Watkins fired at Pope with his only real opening.
Just as Villa were building up some pressure, though, it became a salvage job when Konsa got the wrong side of Gordon and reacted by hauling the attacker down.
Emery will at least be pleased with the discipline and determination with which Villa defended from then on, while Bizot was in fine form when called upon, too. Substitute Donyell Malen offered some threat going the other way late on, but it would have very much been a smash-and-grab victory.
However, Emery will want to see a much more well-rounded display from his team when they face Brentford next week.
Newcastle’s lack of cutting edge costly
Despite the fact they have a Champions League campaign to look forward to, it has been something of a cruel summer for Newcastle.
Eddie Howe has had to answer plenty of questions over the future of star striker Isak, while he has seen reported targets slip through the club’s grasp, too.
Yet Newcastle demonstrated they still have plenty of quality even without Isak – their fluid front three of Barnes, Gordon and Elanga were extremely effective. However, the lack of an out-and-out striker was also evident.
On his competitive debut for Newcastle, Elanga could have broken the deadlock. That chance was followed up by a penalty appeal, as Barnes went down, but there was nothing doing for the officials.
Gordon, too, squandered a couple of chances, and it is not difficult to imagine these kinds of opportunities having been put away by Isak, if he had featured.
Just what happens now with Isak remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Howe will hope for more incomings. Jacob Ramsey is reportedly set to join from Villa in the coming days, though his arrival will not resolve the striker situation.
Newcastle’s first home game of the new campaign is against Liverpool on 25 August – an encounter that promises to be feisty.
Club reports
Aston Villa report | Newcastle report
What the managers said
Unai Emery: "I am not happy with one point at home, but against a team like Newcastle, they made a lot of good chances in the first half.
"[In the] Second half we dominated more, created chances. But the red card changed the match completely. The players responded fantastically, the point more or less is fair."
Eddie Howe: "I'm happy with the point. I thought we were magnificent, front-foot, very aggressive. We had chances to score.
"I think we had a bit of a lull in the game until the red card and then came on strong again. I'm disappointed we didn't win. I don't think we dominated, chance-wise, the way we wanted. We were maybe a little bit too anxious to score but the players really turned up and gave everything."
Next fixtures
Key facts
Newcastle have failed to win any of their last six Premier League games without Isak (D4 L2), failing to score in each of their last four, despite having 75 shots (9.4xG) across those six matches.
Villa are unbeaten in their last 19 home matches in the Premier League (W11 D8), the Villans’ longest ever run on home soil in the competition.
Newcastle are winless in their last four away Premier League games (D2 L2), their longest streak in the competition since a run of seven between October 2023-January 2024. They’ve also failed to score in four of their last eight away league games, as many occasions as in their previous 25.
Villa failed to have a single shot in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time since March 2022 v Arsenal, ending a 123-game run of managing a shot in the opening half in the league.