Player Ratings: Newcastle United 1-0 Aston Villa - The Tyneside blues continue for Steven Gerrard’s men

Emi Martinez: 6/10

With a lack of attempts on goal by either side, the Argentine had a quiet day at the office and had no chance on Newcastle United’s lone goal of the game via a Kieran Trippier free-kick.

Matty Cash: 6/10

Was often the furthest man forward on a number of occasions, but his spells of possession and delivery were very poor on the day — a theme that seems to be creeping into his game as of late.

Calum Chambers: 6/10

Aside from giving away the foul on former Arsenal teammate, Joe Willock, in which eventually led to Kieran Trippier’s goal via a free-kick, the debutant was rather settled at the back and made a number of key challenges at times.

Tyrone Mings: 6.5/10

A somewhat redeeming performance for the Villa captain, who made a number of key sliding tackles to nullify the oncoming Newcastle counter-attack.

Lucas Digne: 5/10

Removed from set piece duty until the latter stages of the game, the Frenchman struggled to get balls into the Newcastle box and was often overlooked when making runs down the left flank.

John McGinn: 5.5/10

The Scotsman was a rather quiet figure at St. James’ Park — often trying to use his body to turn his man and put Villa on the break, but struggled to surpass Newcastle’s press on a number of occasions.

Douglas Luiz: 4/10

Sloppy when in possession and completely ineffective when on set pieces. Time for the Brazilian to have a spell on the sidelines perhaps?

Jacob Ramsey: 6.5/10

Was easily Villa’s most impressive player on the day, which really isn’t saying much given the performances of some of this teammates. The young Villan was actively trying to push his side up the pitch and should be appreciated given today’s circumstances.

Emi Buendia: 5/10

Just not the Argentine’s day as he struggled to really insert himself into the game and was often bullied off of the ball. Will be a frustrated figure as Kieran Trippier’s free-kick deflected off of the attacking midfielder and gave Newcastle the lone goal of the game.

Philippe Coutinho: 5/10

Was completely invisible in the first half and it wasn’t until Ollie Watkins’ goal being called off that the Brazilian really got into the game. The lack of support around the Brazilian was a telling factor in how he performed today, with any options when on the ball being rather limited.

Ollie Watkins: 4/10

A dull and frustrating performance by the striker, who’s only effort on target was ruled as being offside (massively debatable) and kept Newcastle United’s 1-0 lead intact.

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SUBSTITUTES:

Leon Bailey (72 mins): 6/10

Replaced Emi Buendia and added a bit of pace to this Aston Villa side, but it was far too late in the game for him to make an impact.

Danny Ings (72 mins): 6/10

Replaced Ollie Watkins and was often direct going forward, but with a lack of quality play in the attacking areas of the pitch, it was never going to be a great appearance for the striker.

Carney Chukwuemeka (85 mins): N/A

Replaced John McGinn.

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MAN OF THE MATCH: Jacob Ramsey

This may go down as one of the worst performances we’ve seen from this Villa side this season, but Jacob Ramsey at least provided the travelling fans with a few glimmers of hope as he wasn’t afraid to take risks at times and did everything he could to drive the midfield further up the pitch.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images