Newcastle miss Alexander Isak but Aston Villa performance provides much-needed hope

Amidst a serious amount of adversity, Newcastle United played very well against Aston Villa in their Premier League opening fixture. They were just missing one thing: a proper striker. Funny that.

More Newcastle fans predicted an afternoon to match their miserable summer than not. But it was actually fine. Sure, Alexander Isak probably would have won the Magpies that game, but a draw at Villa Park is not a bad result – especially when you consider the absolute s**t-show Newcastle players, staff and fans have been forced to deal with.

Isak’s actions have contributed to low expectations for 2025/26 and a tricky first match against a team that reached the quarter-final of the Champions League last season. Yet, how the match panned out tells us that Newcastle are in a better place than Aston Villa.

Anthony Elanga looked dangerous at times with his incredible pace but his end product was extremely poor. There was a one-v-one he had to score after two-and-a-half minutes, but another new signing, Marco Bizot, won the battle of wits. That missed opportunity – that Jacob Murphy would have buried – was instantly followed up by a penalty appeal and corner, with the high-paced beginning teasing us with another classic after Friday night’s chaos at Anfield.

Anthony Gordon, filling in for Isak, is not a centre-forward, but has played there enough to be Eddie Howe’s best option while the off-pitch mess is being cleaned up. There was a glorious headed chance he missed in the first half that Isak would’ve at least got on target, but his pace is something the Swede doesn’t have at his disposal, and is what saw Ezri Konsa given a straight red card for a last-man yank.

So much of the build-up to Newcastle’s Premier League opener was about a transfer that could happen before the September 1 deadline, but Elanga was the only new signing included in their starting XI, underlining the difficult summer they’ve had. Villa, meanwhile, only had one new face as well, and that was the aforementioned Bizot in goal for the suspended Emi Martinez, who was also expected to have been sold by now.

Three points and a good performance were exactly what Newcastle needed to change the narrative from Isak and his future to the club’s future and the huge year they have in front of them. One point and a good performance will suffice; that’s still better than most fans expected. They left Villa Park having performed well and will be upset they didn’t get the win.

Last season, Isak missed four league games and Newcastle won none of them. That poor streak has continued into 2025/26, but given all of the adversity, the Toon Army can overlook that. The overall signs were very positive. It was a scrappy game at times and the final product lacked quality throughout, but there weren’t many Newcastle fans going into a tricky opening day trip to Aston Villa who expected to leave with a point, let alone three.

It’s been a miserable summer that still has two weeks left and if they come out of the other side of the Isak debacle with an elite striker, those dark clouds over St James’ Park will clear. Champions League football is back, remember? And Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Tino Livramento are bloody brilliant footballers. Positivity is key, people.

There were some lovely moments of link-up play between Livramento and Harvey Barnes, while Dan Burn looked as comfortable as he ever has against a superb player in Ollie Watkins, who did have a quiet afternoon.

Newcastle’s summer may have been overshadowed by off-field drama, but this performance showed they still have the players, the energy and the belief to fight for another top-five finish.

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