Unai Emery admitted to a sense of disappointment but also fairness after Aston Villa’s draw with Newcastle, a game heavily influenced by Ezri Konsa’s red card. Despite not being content with a single point at home, Emery lauded his team’s response to going down to ten men and highlighted the impressive debut of goalkeeper Marco Bizot.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expressed a mix of disappointment and acceptance following his team's goalless draw against Newcastle United in their Premier League season opener at Villa Park. The match, which saw Villa reduced to ten men after Ezri Konsa's sending off, ultimately ended with both sides sharing the points.
Emery acknowledged that while he was unhappy with securing only a point at home, the circumstances of the match, particularly Konsa's dismissal, made the draw a somewhat fair result. "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," Emery told BBC Match of the Day.
The game's turning point arrived in the 66th minute when Konsa was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul. Despite being a man down, Aston Villa managed to hold on, showcasing resilience and defensive solidity to deny Newcastle a winning goal. Prior to the sending off, Newcastle had largely dominated the match, creating several opportunities that Villa struggled to contain.
Reflecting on the match's dynamics, Emery noted, "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." The statistics painted a clear picture of Newcastle's first-half dominance. Eddie Howe's side registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.47 from 16 shots, compared to Villa's meager 0.13 from just three attempts. The absence of Newcastle's key striker, Alexander Isak, further highlighted Villa's defensive struggles.
Villa's attacking woes were evident as they failed to record a single shot in the first half, marking the first time they had done so in a Premier League game since March 2022. This ended a 123-game streak of Villa having at least one shot in the opening half of a league match. The sending off of Konsa also meant that Villa had received a red card in each of their last two Premier League games, a sequence they had not experienced since December 2024.
Despite these challenges, Aston Villa extended their unbeaten home run to 19 matches in the Premier League, with 11 wins and eight draws. Emery, while critical of his team's overall performance, praised their ability to adapt and defend resolutely after the red card. "It was a tough match. After the red card there was more necessity to defend, but we responded to all the issues on the field," he said.
One of the bright spots for Aston Villa was the performance of debutant goalkeeper Marco Bizot, who stepped in for the suspended Emiliano Martinez. Bizot, signed from Brest this summer, made several crucial saves, including an early stop to deny Anthony Elanga. Emery lauded Bizot's contribution, saying, "Fantastic, he did very good work for his confidence and his team mates." With Martinez's future at Villa Park uncertain, Bizot's solid debut provided a reassuring glimpse of his potential.
In summary, while Unai Emery was not entirely satisfied with a draw in their Premier League opener, he acknowledged the impact of Ezri Konsa's red card and praised his team's resilience in securing a point against a strong Newcastle side. The performance of debutant Marco Bizot was a positive takeaway, offering hope for the goalkeeping position moving forward. Aston Villa will look to build on this result and address their attacking concerns as they progress through the season.