Aston Villa suffered a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, with Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho creating multiple opportunities for teammates that weren’t converted. Noel Whelan was critical of their contribution and told Football Insider that they were ‘lacking’.
Digne whipped in more crosses than any player on the day without it leading to a goal while no player created more chances or made more successful dribbles than Coutinho. But the pair didn’t shine at St James’ Park and scored a player rating of 6/10 and 5/10 respectively by Birmingham Live.
Whelan said: “Everything comes down to the delivery, and it was wasteful at the weekend. They’ve got players like Lucas Digne and Phillippe Coutinho able to provide quality from those sorts of situations – that’s what their game is all about.
“Set-pieces can win and lose you football matches, and that was the case again for Aston Villa against Newcastle. They created chances but the final ball was just lacking, it never really happened for them. They weren’t the same side going forward that we saw against Leeds United.”
Against Newcastle, Digne created two chances and whipped in nine crosses, finding a teammate only once. Coutinho also created two chances and made three successful dribbles without it leading to an equaliser. The pair will hope to impress in Villa’s next game – Watford (home) on Saturday, February 19.
Digne has enjoyed a bright start to life at Villa, so his performance at Newcastle need not worry supporters. Same with Coutinho, who’s scored two goals and made two assists in four Premier League appearances.
In other news, Paddy Kenny lauds ‘frightening’ Philippe Coutinho after impressive start
