Things we learned as Aston Villa and Newcastle play to 3-3 goal-fest

Barnes is solid in short debut, Villa’s midfield shows off skills, Anderson makes case for playing time: Things we learned as Aston Villa and Newcastle play to 3-3 goal-fest

• Eddie Howe experimented with a new formation that he called a ‘misadventure’
• Aston Villa dominated the midfield battle early on against Tonali and Guimaraes
• 17-year-old Omari Kellyman was one of the game’s standout performers for Villa

The thrills and spills of the Premier League Summer Series continued as Newcastle and Aston Villa shared six goals in Philadelphia, taking the total to 18 across the opening three matches.

Our man CRAIG HOPE was at Lincoln Financial Field to bring you his five talking points…

TRIAL AND ERROR?

Eddie Howe trialled a new 3-4-2-1 formation for the first time. And it could be the last. They were 2-0 down inside 11 minutes and it should have been more, so open were they in the full-back areas. There were some quizzical looks being exchanged among the back three in the wake of Villa’s second goal, for it all felt incredibly easy.

It also raised eyebrows that, on the day Newcastle spent £38million on winger Harvey Barnes, they shelved the 4-3-3 system that includes two widemen. These things have to be experimented with during pre-season, of course, but Howe could well be filing this one under ‘misadventure’.

Or, on reflection, was it all a cunning ploy to confuse Villa, who they face on the opening day of the Premier League season?

Eddie Howe experimented with a new formation during the game that may need more practice

POWER TOOLS…

Villa are powerful. John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Emiliano Buendia ran all over Newcastle’s central-midfield pair of Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes early on. The Magpies were crying out for the physicality of Joelinton.

But Villa were impressive. Buendia shrugged off Tonali on halfway before driving forward and laying on the opening goal for Ollie Watkins. The provider turned scorer soon after when Luiz clipped a clever ball into one of several spaces in between Newcastle’s defenders, allowing Buendia to slam past Martin Dubrvaka at his near post.

The Argentine was fantastic throughout. He is robust, tricky and industrious. He made it 3-2 to his side early in the second half with a close-range finish and he nearly had a hat-trick when dancing through before slicing wide.

Unai Emery labelled his performance ‘perfect’ – that miss apart, of course.

Emiliano Buendia ran all over Newcastle’s central-midfield and recorded two goals in the game

OH-MARI…

Buendia wasn’t the only skillful Villa midfielder to catch the eye – Omari Kellyman was terrific, too.

The 17-year-old was perhaps the game’s standout player, if only because we hadn’t heard a great deal about him before now – he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page!

But the rangey attacking midfielder – introduced at half-time – is a box of tricks and it was from his shot that Buendia followed up to score his second. Kellyman later had a shot cleared from the line after throwing a series of dummies to leave his opponents scrambling. Emery said: ’He did brilliant in some moments, and really showed his qualities and skill.’

Taken from Derby’s academy last year, the teenager is one to watch, for sure.

17-year-old Omari Kellyman was one of the game’s standout performers during the friendly 

ELL OF A CHANCE…

Newcastle’s Elliot Anderson is making a serious play for a starting spot come the season opener. The 20-year-old has been his team’s best player across three friendlies this summer.

He pulled a goal back at 0-2, sending Ezri Konsa for the hot dogs with a sharp snap inside the area before rolling home. It was from his jinking run that Alexander Isak then equalised on the stroke of half-time.

Anderson, once so slender, enjoyed a growth spurt 12 months ago and he looks bigger and stronger again for a year around Howe’s senior set-up. The midfielder currently plays for Scotland Under-21s, but we should expect an approach from England soon enough.

Elliot Anderson scored a goal and had a strong performance during as he fights for play

BARNES IN THE USA…

There was a debut midway through the second half for Barnes, who only arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday. He played on the left of a midfield four – Howe had ditched his back three by then – and he almost scored a trademark goal when cutting infield and taking aim for the top corner with his right.

Howe said: ‘I was undecided whether to use him, but thought it was wise to get his Newcastle journey stated. And I thought he was excellent. We saw he has that athleticism and bursts of speed. We’re excited about what he will bring.’

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