Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle: Magpies struggle without Isak as Konsa red card

Newcastle United failed to take their chances without star striker Alexander Isak and were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against 10-player Aston Villa.

Match Events

The hosts were reduced to 10 when Konsa was shown a straight red in the 66th minute after pulling Anthony Gordon, who had raced in behind the defence and looked through on goal, to the ground.

The frustration had already been building for the Magpies without their star man, Isak, leading the line but the situation worsened when they failed to make their advantage count at Villa Park.

The Sweden international was not named in the match-day squad, with his transfer saga continuing to rumble on behind the scenes, and his absence was sorely felt in the first half as his side squandered golden opportunities in front of goal.

The Magpies accumulated an expected goals value of 1.16 xG before the break but failed to find the back of the net despite this dominance.

Gordon, the player tasked with leading the line in the absence of Isak, and Anthony Elanga both saw efforts saved by Villa's new goalkeeper Marco Bizot, before a rejuvenated claret and blue side emerged from the interval.

The red card stagnated their approach going forward but solidified Unai Emery's side at the back.

Boubacar Kamara dropped into the centre of defence after Konsa's departure and the compact claret and blue unit frustrated Newcastle, limiting their opponents to very little despite the advantage.

Both sides walked away with a point but while it will feel positive for Villa, it offers Newcastle a worrying insight into what life without Isak could really be like.

Line-ups

Aston Villa XI: Marco Bizot, Digne, McGinn, Mings, Tielemans, Ollie Watkins, Kamara, Ngoyo, Matty Cash, Morgan Rogers, Amadou Onana

Subs: Buendia, P. Torres, Malen, Evann Guessand, Maatsen, Samuel Iling-Junior, Lamare Bogarde, James Wright, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba

Newcastle XI: Trippier, Schar, Burn, Pope, Joelinton, Guimaraes, Barnes, Tonali, Gordon, Tino Livramento, Anthony Elanga

Subs: Krafth, J.Murphy, Ramsdale, Sven Botman, Malick Thiaw, Lewis Hall, William Osula, Lewis Miley, Seung-soo Park