Anwar El Ghazi
Aston Villa goalscorer Anwar El Ghazi has admitted that Villa were not at their best against Newcastle but deserved the three points. Dean Smith ’s men came out as 2-0 winners thanks to a spectacular bicycle kick from Danny Ings and El Ghazi ’s second-half penalty. The result came in front of a packed Villa Park with a capacity crowd returning for the first time since February 2020. It also ensured that Villa bounced back from opening day disappointment against Watford.
Anwar El Ghazi said: “Last week was a poor performance from us, and it’s amazing that we can do something right in front of Villa fans, and I think that we deserved three points.
While the 26-year-old did, however, admit that while the performance was better than last week, there is still some improvement to be found going into the next games.
Anwar El Ghazi said: “It’s a big difference with the fans. We know we didn’t play our best game, but it’s sometimes important to get the three points, that’s what we needed, especially after last week. We build from here, we have to keep working hard to play better and create opportunities and I hope the rest will come.”
The 2-0 scoreline meant that Villa kept their first clean sheet of the season, with the side looking to better the 15 achieved in 2020/21.
Anwar El Ghazi said: “Our back four are amazing, and we can trust them, we build from there, and we have to focus on next week.”
Villa are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Barrow in the League Cup second round. Smith’s men are then back in Premier League action next Saturday when they host the manager’s former club Brentford at Villa Park.
