Newcastle United missed the chance to reinforce their lofty Premier League position as they were given a thorough hiding against Champions League-chasing rivals Aston Villa.
A switch flicked in December and United charged their way into the ascendancy, winning the Carabao Cup off Liverpool in March and underlining their elite-level credentials.
Still third in the top flight, Eddie Howe’s side now need to regroup ahead of the crucial final stretch of the season, their six-match winning run snapped.
However, this was a bruising display that will have left stand-in manager Jason Tindall seething. So often so strong, the centre-halves were taken to the shops against Villa Park’s slick frontline.
Newcastle's defence falls against Villa
Newcastle have been in emphatic form in recent weeks, turning Crystal Palace over 5-0 in midweek. However, the relentless fixture list, having forced United into three games over six days, claimed a top outfit in this one.
Fabian Schar equalised before twenty minutes after connecting with the in-form Harvey Barnes’ whipped delivery, but it was not a good evening for the long-serving Swiss centre-back, who disappointingly lost all five of his duels.
Likewise, Dan Burn has been a pillar of strength this term but he failed to produce his best performance, skewing Youri Tielemans’ lunge into his own net to all but seal the hosts’ victory. He also struggled to impose himself against a lively frontline, winning just one of five duels.
Both Schar and Burn will recover over the coming days and gear up for next weekend’s crucial clash against Ipswich Town at St. James’ Park.
Options have been sparse in defence, but there’s one man who may be dropped going forward after being exposed against Unai Emery’s men.
Newcastle must now drop stalwart
Even with Lewis Hall sidelined for the rest of the season, Kieran Trippier surely needs to be benched for the tough run-in, with Howe perhaps shifting Tino Livramento back into his natural right-back berth and giving Matt Targett some rare game time from the outset.
26/04/25
Ipswich Town (H)
18th
04/05/25
Brighton (A)
10th
10/05/25
Chelsea (H)
7th
18/05/25
Arsenal (A)
2nd
25/05/25
Everton (H)
13th
Following the loss, the experienced full-back was branded with a 4/10 match rating by The Chronicle Live, who noted that he was run ragged by the Lions.
Ceding possession 16 times despite only making one key pass, as per Sofascore, Trippier’s ball-playing skills weren’t at their best, but more concerningly he only won one of his four contested ground duels, having a tough time against the dangerous Ollie Watkins.
Newcastle writer Thomas Hammond even made the scathing comment that “Trippier’s legs gave up on him.” Aged 34 and a true veteran of the game, it’s hardly surprising that this might be the case for the vice-captain.
Schar and Burns suffered rare off-days and you’d think that all of a Magpies persuasion will be able to rally ahead of the stretch ahead, but if faced with such intensity again, Howe and Tindall might want to consider dropping Trippier, who was already at risk of being sold during the winter transfer window and may well be in the coming months.
The concern, of course, is that the Toon face a testing finish to the season, one which they will need to pass with flying colours if a place back at the continent’s prized tournament is to be achieved, lifting a stunning campaign even higher.
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