Newcastle United watched on as Aston Villa started their Champions League campaign with a win on Tuesday night.
Unai Emery’s side beat Young Boys 3-0 in Switzerland, as Aston Villa enjoyed the perfect start to what they are hoping will be a very exciting Champions League adventure.
Newcastle will have been jealous of Aston Villa, as they kicked off their campaign with a rather favourable tie. In contrast, Eddie Howe’s side were in the group of death 12 months ago, as they faced Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan.
The new Champions League format is going to help Aston Villa, while Newcastle endure a season without European football.
Danny Murphy is asked to compare Aston Villa to Newcastle after Champions League begins
It will be interesting to see how Aston Villa cope with being in the Champions League compared to Newcastle. The Magpies found it tough, but that was largely down to their incredibly tough fixtures and their ridiculous injury crisis.
Paul Scholes has suggested that Villa might have the same problem as Newcastle, but TalkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy believes that Emery’s side are in a much better position to enjoy a strong Champions League campaign.
Speaking on TalkSPORT on Wednesday, Danny Murphy was asked if Aston Villa are better set for the Champions League this season than Newcastle were last year.
“They’re better set because they’ve got a deeper squad,” he said.
“They spent more money in the window to prepare for this season than Newcastle did when they prepared for theirs.
“The new format will help them more than it helped Newcastle. Newcastle were desperately unlucky. They got drawn in a horrendous group. That can happen in that format.
“Whereas this one – you can still be a little unlucky with the draw, but you’re going to get some games that you can win.”
Simon Jordan leaps to the defence of Newcastle
Simon Jordan was also on TalkSPORT, and took issue with Murphy’s argument about Aston Villa being better prepared for the Champions League.
“To compare it to Newcastle… Newcastle played against the eventual finalists, Borussia Dortmund,” he said.
“They played against a powerhouse in PSG and were so unlucky against them.
“I think it’s a really unfair comparison. If Newcastle were playing in a tournament that had eight games of a mixed bag where you might only need three [wins] to get through, I would tip Newcastle to get out of the group if the role was reversed.”
Newcastle were unlucky in the Champions League
The key difference between Newcastle United and Aston Villa in the Champions League is the format.
Unai Emery’s side are better placed to do well in the competition, as they have kinder fixtures. It could not have been any less kind for Newcastle last season!
You could even argue that Newcastle did initially have the depth last season, until that crazy injury crisis took over. We saw on Sunday that the Magpies do have depth when everyone is fit, with the likes of Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes and Kieran Trippier helping off the bench to beat Wolves.
If Newcastle were in the Champions League this season, Jordan thinks Newcastle would advance. However, they are sadly not in Europe at all.
That could play into the Magpies’ hands, as it means they only have to focus on their domestic duties.
It has ended up being a great start to the season for Newcastle, despite not playing very well. The Magpies can go top of the Premier League on Saturday if they beat Fulham.
As for Aston Villa, they have also started the season well, and began their Champions League journey with a win. Murphy thinks they have the depth to cope, but it will be interesting to see how they handle the relentless schedule they are about to endure.
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