15 August 2023 , 07:00
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Sir Alex Ferguson was left impressed with Aston Villa from the opening round of Premier League games - despite them being beaten 5-1 at Newcastle United.
Unai Emery's side were carved open at St James' Park but nonetheless impressed Ferguson with their performance. The former Manchester United manager was left shocked by the scoreline which he felt was not a reflection of the game.
Appearing on NBC Sports on USA Network ahead of United's opening game against Wolves at Old Trafford, Ferguson was asked which team had impressed him most from the first round of games. He was unanimous in his response, opting for left-field choice.
"To be honest with you," Ferguson said. "I watched Aston Villa and I can't believe the scoreline
"Honestly, Aston Villa played fantastic football and just lost to bad goals. Newcastle are going to be very difficult to beat, in their own ground in particular, and their manager has done a great job there.
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"It's a surprising game, football. You can play teams off the pitch and not score - that's what Aston Villa did."
Villa's defeat was the first time they have conceded five goals on the opening day since 1951. It meant a disappointing start to Emery's first full season in charge after a summer spending spree prompting plenty of optimism they could follow in Newcastle's footsteps by challenging for the top four.
Emery seemingly disagrees with Ferguson's view as he admitted after the match his side deserved to lose the game, but he was still keen to focus on the positive despite losing Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings to injury.
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Aston Villa were well beaten at Newcastle but their performance impressed Sir Alex Ferguson (Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)Emery said: "We were excited and optimistic before the match, knowing it’s a difficult match. We are feeling strong with the supporters and the structure. They are a very physical team and when they are scoring the first goal their transition is very dangerous.
"We were playing and controlling the match in the first half, but in the second half after they scored it was the moment we didn’t react good. If we scored with Matty Cash’s chance maybe we could get some options, but at the end 5-1 is a little bit more than we deserved. They deserved to win, but not like that.
“The injuries make it even more tough with Emi and Tyrone because we are losing two very important players for today in the match and the next weeks.”
Villa return to action at home to Everton on Sunday where they will be hoping for a result to prove Ferguson's optimism is well-placed.