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Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United | Talking Points

Aston Villa made sure Steve Bruce’s return to Villa Park was a miserable one as they beat his Newcastle side 2-0 under the Monday night lights.

Villa ended a run of three defeats, climbing to 15th in the table after defeating Newcastle 2-0 in what was an entertaining game of football for the West Midlands side. 

After a dominant opening half-hour, Conor Hourihane opened the scoring for Villa with an exquisite free-kick which curled inside of Martin Dúbravka’s near post.

Hourihane turned provider a few minutes later, putting in a perfectly timed ball which Anwar El-Ghazi tapped in, doubling Villa’s advantage before the break.

Newcastle hit back early in the second half, with Federico Fernandez and Allan Saint-Maximin drawing good saves out of the returning Tom Heaton.

Villa looked to put the game to bed late on and should have, with the newly-capped Brazilian international Wesley putting his one on one effort straight into Dúbravka’s hands.

Is Hourihane Villa’s unsung hero?

Hourihane has come under a lot of criticism in his two years at Villa. The Irish international has contributed the most amount of goals in all competitions this season for the Midlands side, yet has seen himself dropped from the team twice already this campaign.

The central midfielder has had his defensive abilities scrutinised, being left out of the team for tough fixtures such as Manchester City away and Liverpool at home, which Villa lost both of. The Irishman certainly contributes goals when he plays, and should feel hard done by for his lack of appearances so far.

Hourihane has worked his way up to the Premier League from League Two, showing hard work and commitment does pay off. He has proved his critics at Villa wrong many times, most notably when he scored the stunning goal against West Brom in last seasons playoffs, a pivotal goal contributing to Villa’s rise to the Premier League. After Monday night’s performance, Hourihane will certainly want to kick on and cement his place as a first-team starter in the Premier League.

A sour return to Villa Park for Bruce?

Just over a year on from the so-called ‘cabbage-gate’, Steve Bruce made his return to Villa Park, looking to get one over on his former employers, proving to the Villa faithful that he didn’t deserve his sacking and criticism.

Before the game, Bruce described his time at the Villa as one of the toughest jobs he has faced, and being “one of the most unsavoury times of my career”. He wasn’t met with a warm welcome, after a poor run of results last season saw the Villa faithful turn on him before he was sacked.

His Newcastle side lacked discipline in their defence, conceding two set-piece goals in the first half. Despite some threatening moments from Newcastle, Villa was in the ascendancy for the majority of the game, making Bruce’s return one to forget.

The crucial captain?

Jack Grealish marked his return to Villa’s starting XI with a win in what was their most impressive performance since they thrashed Norwich 5-1 at Carrow Road. 

The Villa fan-turned-captain shone on his return, reminding everyone how important he is to his side’s chances of staying up this season. The Englishman topped the charts for shots and shots on target, chances created and dribbles completed, winning the man of the match.

Despite not playing in his preferred position, Grealish has put in performances to warrant his England call up, with his eyes firmly set on a Euro 2020 spot. With performances like the one he put in against Newcastle, there is no reason why he can’t make the England squad and keep Villa in the Premier League for next season.

Mixed results for Newcastle?

Newcastle’s season has been a bit hit and miss for the Toon faithful. Before Monday’s game, Newcastle had won three of their last five. They had a chance to go ninth, after also gaining victories against both Tottenham and Manchester United this season. 

A lack of consistency has seen the Magpies drop to 14th in the table, losing to lower table outfits such as Norwich and Villa in recent weeks. Bruce’s negative style of football has some fans blaming the veteran manager for their mixed results, whilst many others point the finger at the ownership of Mike Ashley, for some of his decisions in recent years. Whoever is to blame, it is clear that Newcastle need to gain more consistency in their results if they want to avoid slipping into a relegation battle this season.

However currently, after a summer of worry, Newcastle looks on course for another season of midtable obscurity. There is no doubt that if this result was offered to the Newcastle fans before the season, many would have happily taken it.

A new defensive partnership?

After Villa’s impressive start to the season defensively, Ezri Konsa would have been wondering how he could get into the Villa side. However, after an unfortunate injury to Bjorn Engels, Konsa got his chance against Wolves.

The young Englishman showed maturity and class despite Villa’s defeat, being a shining light in what was a very dull afternoon for the Villans. He again stepped up again against Newcastle, keeping a clean sheet alongside his English compatriots Mings and Heaton, whilst almost scoring the other end. 

The young English centre half has followed Smith across from Brentford to Villa and has put in the performances to show why Smith spent a high fee for him. With a tough three fixtures of Manchester United, Leicester and Chelsea on the horizon, could Konsa keep his place in the Villa side?

Up Next:

Both Newcastle and Villa face a Manchester side in their next game. Villa travel to Old Trafford to face an underperforming United side, whilst Newcastle host the champions City, who are looking to close their gap to Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League.

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