Aston Villa vs Newcastle live: Hosts cling on for a point after Ezri Konsa sent off in Premier League clash

The temptation is to say that Newcastle missed Alexander Isak. But perhaps they missed Hugo Ekitike or Benjamin Sesko or Joao Pedro or Liam Delap, or any of the strikers they had hoped to recruit to replace the one who wants to leave.

Or maybe even Yoane Wissa or Nicolas Jackson, the sixth- or seventh-choice options who could end up arriving as Plan F or G or somewhere still further into the alphabet.

And who, as the Newcastle fans who used to idolise the Swede launched into a chorus of “one greedy bastard”, they may prefer now.

Newcastle meanwhile have a tricky couple of fixtures.

Next for them is Liverpool a week on Monday which should be extra spicy given the noise around Alexander Isak.

After that they face Leeds which could be tough if the the newly promoted side have got to grips with the pace of the league by then.

Aston Villa will be hoping to bounce back quickly and take on Brentford next Saturday away from home.

A point against Newcastle is a decent result, especially having gone down to 10-men but they’ll be targeting a win against the Bees next up.

The Villa boss added: "It is difficult to anticipate which is best in that moment.

“This action for Konsa, I can't say anything about this decision.”

Here are some thoughts from Unai Emery who told BBC Match of the Day:

"I am not happy with one point at home. But against a team like Newcastle, they made a lot of good chances in the first half.

“Second half we dominated more, created chances. But the red card changed the match completely. The players responded fantastically, the point more or less is fair.

"It was a tough match. After the red card there was more necessity to defend, but we responded to all the issues on the field."

Eddie Howe finally addressed the Alexander Isak situation and wants it to be resolved as soon as possible.

He said: “From my perspective, you want a resolution quickly. It’s taking away the focus of the players, of the supporters.

“We want to be united together. We’d like a resolution, but we’re not in control of that.”

More from Eddie Howe who was asked if his team need a striker.

He replied: “I can’t criticise anyone who played today. I thought Anthony Gordon was very good in that position. I couldn’t fault his performance.

“I think we have to focus at how the team functioned rather than any individual.

“If you’re not totally together in the Premier League, you’re going to find it very difficult. I think we answered a few questions today in terms of our spirit.

“We have to do that on a regular basis, not just today.”

The Newcastle boss said: “I’m happy with the point.

“I thought we were magnificent, front-foot, very aggressive. We had chances to score.

“I think we had a bit of a lull in the game until the red card and then came on strong again. I’m disappointed we didn’t win.

“I don’t think we dominated, chance-wise, the way we wanted. We were maybe a little bit too anxious to score. The players really turned up and gave everything.”

Former Aston Villa Marc Albrighton said on BBC 5 Live:

“Newcastle are missing a focal point, a number nine that is assured of himself. Gordon does tend to drift wide and they play two out and out wingers, so you can tell they are missing it.

“I think before the game they would not have been too disheartened with a point. As the game has gone on Villa will be delighted with a point.”