Aston Villa demolition job shows Newcastle can beat the Premier League's best
What a way to start the new campaign. Newcastle United produced one of their best performances of the Eddie Howe era in the late kick-off on Saturday, putting Aston Villa to the sword in a comprehensive 5-1 victory.
The pre-season consensus was that Newcastle might struggle to repeat last term’s top-four finish as they balance Premier League commitments with the Champions League. That prediction may well prove to be true, but this showing against an Aston Villa side that has been tipped for big things was a reminder that the Magpies are here to stay as a major force.
In many ways Villa were the architects of their own downfall. They were unfortunate to lose Tyrone Mings and Leon Bailey to injury, with the former set to be sidelined for an extended period of time after hurting his knee. But Villa were too easy to play through in the second half, when Newcastle continually exploited their high defensive line.
Not for the first time in the last 12 months, a visiting team was blown away by the hosts at St James’ Park. Newcastle played with great hunger and intensity from the very first whistle. They set a ferocious tempo and maintained it throughout. Villa simply could not live with it.
There were plenty of important individual contributions too. Sandro Tonali delivered a complete midfield performance on his debut, scoring the opening goal, keeping the ball moving with an 88.9% pass success rate, and hassling and harrying opponents in the engine room.
Alexander Isak was clinical in front of goal, scoring twice from his three shots. Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron were all-action out wide, while centre-back pair Sven Botman and Fabian Schar dealt well with Villa’s strike duo Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby. Even two of the substitutes, Callum Wilson and the debutant Harvey Barnes, found the back of the net.
Newcastle have spent £134m on new players so far this summer, but they have sensibly shunned marquee signings and instead focused on improving the squad incrementally. Howe is said to want one or two more bodies before the window closes on September 1st - another centre-back is the priority - but the Magpies have got the bulk of their business done early.
Howe is building a team in his image and intensity appears to be the key characteristic. This approach is best exemplified by the options out wide: Barnes, Almiron and Gordon are quick, direct and excellent pressers out of possession.
"Our energy and our fitness levels really stood out for me. The longer the game went on, the stronger we looked," Howe said after the match.
The question, of course, is whether Newcastle will be able to sustain those tactics throughout a season which will feature at least six extra matches in the Champions League, plus all the added travel that entails. The Magpies ran out of steam in early 2023, and although they subsequently recovered to claim a top-four berth, competition promises to be stiffer this time around.
Getting as many points on the board as possible in the early part of the campaign could prove crucial. Newcastle will only play one Champions League match before the beginning of October. There are 18 more points up for grabs in the Premier League until then.
Their next three assignments will be tough, however. Newcastle travel to Manchester City on Saturday, before meetings with Liverpool and Brighton. It is far from a gentle start to 2023/24.
Yet Newcastle will draw confidence from their demolition of Aston Villa. On that kind of form, Howe’s team are capable of beating anyone in the division.
