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Gary Neville names two Aston Villa players who really impressed him against Newcastle
Gary Neville has picked two Aston Villa players for praise despite their 5-1 loss to Newcastle United on the opening day, with the pundit admitting that he actually was impressed by the Villans at times.
Neville was speaking on after the Magpies made a real statement with an emphatic victory over Unai Emery’s side at St James’ Park.
Nevertheless, Neville had some encouraging words for Villa, with both Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins receiving praise from the Sky Sports pundit following the defeat.
The game between Newcastle and Villa was always likely to be one of the most fascinating matchups from the opening day of the campaign. Of course, both forced their way into the European places last year. And neither is likely to be simply content with where they finished last season.
Neville praises Diaby and Watkins despite Aston Villa defeat
Obviously, Newcastle got the three points in some style. But Villa did cause some problems. And Diaby marked his debut with a brilliant finish.
Meanwhile, Watkins was relentless in his running throughout the contest. And Neville suggested that he saw more than enough to think that Villa will comfortably bounce back from the loss.
“I have to say I thought Newcastle were outstanding. I was impressed with Villa for parts of the game as well. That sounds daft when a team has got beat 5-1,” he told .
“[Newcastle] were up against an Aston Villa team that will beat a lot of teams this year and cause a lot of damage, because I thought Diaby and Watkins up front looked a real handful at times.”
It says a lot about the quality of a side that Neville is not at all worried after a 5-1 loss. But Newcastle are picking up momentum at a rapid rate. And there are not too many teams in world football who have not been on the receiving end of a thrashing.
Certainly, this is no reason for Villa to panic. They have a world-class coach. And they have a squad which is improving all the time.
The biggest worry after Saturday will be the injury to Tyrone Mings. And obviously, Villa may now need to act in the transfer market.
But in terms of the result and the performance, Villa have enough to move on quickly from the loss. And Diaby and Watkins definitely look set to enjoy big seasons.