(Credit: Imago)

Aston Villa player ratings vs Newcastle United: Marco Bizot stars, 3/10 woeful

Alex is a lifelong Sunderland supporter who's been reporting on Mackem News since April 2025. Indeed, he started working for Breaking Media in April and has since graduated from St Mary's University as a NCTJ Gold Standard-accredited journalist, having completed his Master's degree in Sports Journalism. Alex previously worked for Football League World and has featured on the Roker Report, providing his opinion on all things Sunderland. While getting to the games is tricky, given his job, one of the highlights of his life was watching (and crying) as the Black Cats defeated Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium last season.

Published on:

16 Aug 2025, 9:02 am

Aston Villa started their Premier League campaign with a fortunate 0-0 draw against Newcastle United at Villa Park on Saturday.

A brilliant Ozzy Osbourne mural made its debut outside Villa Park ahead of the game with the Magpies.

Unai Emery's side failed to get out of the blocks, with Anthony Elanga denied by the superb Marco Bizot.

The West Midlands outfit improved in the second half, but were reduced to 10 men after Ezri Konsa's straight red card for pulling down Anthony Gordon.

In the end, the home team will be thankful to come away with a point in an underwhelming start to the Premier League campaign.

Konsa was given his marching orders (Credit: Imago)

Bizot shines for Villa against Newcastle

Emery may have been fuming with Bizot in pre-season, but he will be delighted with his debut at Villa Park.

Aston Villa could have conceded an early penalty to Newcastle, but Mike Dean believes the referee made the correct call.

The 34-year-old was in between the sticks because of Emi Martinez's suspension after seeing red in the final day of the 2024/25 season.

While the Dutchman is expected to play second fiddle to the World Cup winner, he staked his claim with a fine display.

Bizot did tremendously to deny Elanga in the first half, saving from the Swede who was one-on-one.

The Dutchman kept a clean sheet on debut
Emery can feel confident that he has another solid option in goal

The 34-year-old continued to impress and pulled off some eye-catching saves to keep the score level.

Martinez appears to be staying put after intense speculation around his future, but faces a battle for a starting berth.

Bizot impressed on his competitive debut (Credit: Imago)

Konsa lets Aston Villa down in Premier League opener

Aston Villa were working their way back into the game after a pitiful start against Eddie Howe's men.

However, the game took a pivotal turning point when Gordon found himself in behind the Villa defence.

Konsa was sent off after taking action into his own hands and pulling back Newcastle's makeshift striker to deny him a goalscoring opportunity.

Given how obvious a foul it was, VAR did not need to intervene, meaning the defender was given his marching orders.

Konsa's red card ended any hope of Villa getting a win
He will now be suspended for three matches

While the centre-back had to make a choice, he could have let Gordon continue his run, considering how far away from the goal he was.

However, in the end, it did not prove costly as Emery's men held on to bag a crucial point on home soil.

Aston Villa player ratings v Newcastle United

Marco Bizot - 8

Matty Cash - 5

Ezri Konsa - 3

Tyrone Mings - 5

Lucas Digne - 5

Boubacar Kamara - 7

Amadou Onana - 8

Morgan Rogers - 4

Youri Tielemans - 4

John McGinn - 4

Ollie Watkins - 4

Subs

Donyell Malen - 4

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Ezri Konsa

Unai Emery

Marco Bizot