Aston Villa deserved Newcastle victory despite being under par, Anwar El Ghazi claims
Villa bounced back from an opening-day defeat.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Anwar El Ghazi admitted Aston Villa were not at their best but had no doubt they deserved to beat Newcastle on Saturday as they got their first points of the season on the board.
A week on from opening their campaign with a 3-2 loss at Watford, Dean Smith’s men defeated Newcastle 2-0 in the first Premier League match at Villa Park with a packed attendance since early 2020.
Danny Ings put Villa in front with an overhead kick in first-half stoppage time before El Ghazi notched a 62nd-minute penalty to double the lead.
Newcastle had two VAR checks go against them, with the penalty being awarded after Jamaal Lascelles was deemed guilty of handball, and the visitors then being denied a spot-kick as Callum Wilson was ruled offside – verdicts Magpies boss Steve Bruce said he was “really frustrated with”.
El Ghazi told Villa TV: “Last week was a poor performance from all of us, and it’s amazing that we can do something right in front of all of our Villa fans.
“I think we deserved three points. It’s a big difference with the fans now.
“We know we didn’t play our best game, but sometimes it’s important just to get the three points. It’s what we needed, especially after last week.”
The Dutch winger, who scored four penalties last season, added: “It took ages before I could take the penalty, but I tried to stay focused.
“There was a lot of noise from the keeper and everyone around me. I stayed focused on scoring the goal.”
Newcastle skipper Lascelles told NUTV: “I thought with the penalty, the handball, I know it hit my hand, yeah, but I was that close to him, and I put my leg up to try to block the ball, and it wasn’t like my hands were above my head. So I don’t know what else I could have done.
“And then there’s the one on Callum, the foul, the penalty – they’ve given offside. I guess that’s just the fine margins in football, and on the day that is what made the difference.”
Newcastle were also beaten in their opening game of the season, 4-2 at home by West Ham.