How did the players fare in Newcastle's 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa?


ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1):

Martinez 6; Cash 7, Konsa 7, Mings 8, TARGETT 8; Luiz 7, Nakamba 6; Traore 8 (Trezeguet 80), Barkley 6 (El Ghazi 79), Grealish 8 (Ramsey 88); Watkins 7.

Subs (not used): Heaton (gk), Taylor, Engels, Guilbert, Elmohamady, El Ghazi, Davis.


NEWCASTLE (5-3-2):

4 Darlow: Should have done better as he stood motionless for Villa’s first goal while Watkins headed home

3 Manquillo: Struggled to cope with Grealish’s runs down the Villa left, and offered absolutely nothing as an attacking wing-back

5 Hayden: Tried his best as he was pressed into action as a centre-half, but looks much more comfortable in midfield

4 Lascelles: Struggled to keep up with the pace of Villa’s attackers, as highlighted by the clumsy challenge on Grealish that earned him a booking

3 Schar: Made a host of errors, the most obvious of which saw him balloon the ball up in the air for Watkins to head home

3 Lewis: The standard of his performances continues to regress – seems to make two or three bad errors every game

3 Shelvey: Lethargic, disinterested and completely ineffective – his failure to close down the opposition was indicative of Newcastle’s lacklustre approach

3 Hendrick: What on earth does Steve Bruce see that persuades him to keep the Irishman in the team? Anonymous once again

4 Almiron: What has happened to the fearless attacker who used to run at opposition defences? Repeatedly took the easy option

4 Carroll: Won a couple of first-half headers, but his lack of mobility is a major handicap when Newcastle look to counter-attack

4 Wilson: Must be tearing his hair out at the lack of service from those behind him – although he didn’t help himself with some poor passing


Subs:

4 Saint-Maximin (for Manquillo, 70): It is good to see him back in the fold, although the game was gone by the time he came on

5 Fraser (for Carroll, 70): Got himself into the box at least, and threatened with a prodded shot that was blocked by Konsa

Gayle (for Almiron, 81)

(not used): Dubravka (gk), Krafth, M Longstaff, Ritchie, Murphy, Joelinton.


Man Of The Match: MATT TARGETT – The Villa full-back threatened every time he pushed forward and linked up effectively with Grealish throughout.