Aston Villa are out of the FA Cup and if the Midlands side want to win silver this season they will need to win the Premier League or claim Unai Emery’s beloved Europa League title.
A late win in 2025 seems like a long time ago at this point, and the season is still set up for success, but
Some of Villa’s stars tried to fool the Magpies with flattery, but Luca Digne’s poor performance reinforced the idea that the 32-year-old is no longer at the top level.
Villa need to sign Digne upgrade
Digne should have conceded a penalty after the game by raising his arm high to defend against Kieran Trippier’s whiplash. A referee error spared them a blush, but Sandro Tonali took the free kick and scored the goal.
But that wasn’t the only hot afternoon for the French left-back. Digne was lucky to escape with a booking after a stud-up challenge on Jacob Murphy before the break. He missed one tackle attempt and won only two of his four duels.
This season in the Premier League, he has made two direct mistakes that led to goals.
The FA Cup campaign is over for Emery and co. This may give food for thought to Spanish tacticians considering whether Digne warrants a place in Villa’s long-term starting XI.
Aston Villa vs Newcastle player ratings | |
|---|---|
player | # |
(GK) marco bizotto | 2/10 |
(RB) Ramallah Bogard | 5/10 |
(CB) victor lindelof | 7/10 |
(CB) Pau Torres | 6/10 |
(lb) Lucas Digne | 4/10 |
(CM) Amadou Onana | 7/10 |
(CM) douglas lewis | 6/10 |
(RM) leon bailey | 4/10 |
(morning) ross berkeley | 5/10 |
(LM) morgan rogers | 7/10 |
(CF) Tammy Abraham | 8/10 |
But he’s not the only one. Stand-in goalkeeper Marco Bizzotto is suspended for a moment of insanity, but a more experienced star could return to the bench with much promise.
Emery must drop 4/10 Villa forward
Leon Bailey failed to replicate his early form with Aston Villa last season and was loaned to AS Roma ahead of the 2025/26 season.
The Jamaican international endured a tough half-season in Italy before being recalled to Emery’s side in January, where he has put together a front line team aiming for the title and a return to the Champions League.
It’s no exaggeration to say that he struggled to show his best quality against Newcastle, winning just one of six games (which equates to a disastrous failure rate of 86%), failing on all three of his tries and being held back by Bizzot’s red card at half-time.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player, while still in possession of the ball, directly carries the ball and defeats his opponent.
Football FanCast decided to give the 28-year-old winger a match score of 4/10, saying he couldn’t match Newcastle’s physicality, wasting his only chance to get his name on the scoreboard. Additionally, his inability to dribble the ball forward hindered the hosts’ attacks in the first half, even if they were in the lead.
There was a weight of expectation when Bailey was recalled from his early season loan spell. After all, the forwards scored 14 goals and 14 assists respectively throughout the 2023/24 season.
It was Bailey’s corner kick that led to Villa’s late winning goal in midweek’s Premier League game against Brighton, and he will continue to play that role for the next few months.
However, he failed to impress against Newcastle and in fact suffered a dismal performance that did little to help Emery get back on track.
With that in mind, I have to let him go from now on.
Forget Bizzotto: Aston Villa star looks complete under Emery after Newcastle game
Aston Villa were knocked out of the FA Cup by fellow Premier League side Newcastle United after Marco Bizzotto’s red card grabbed the headlines.
