'Always rated Elmohamady' - Ex-Sunderland man comes back to haunt Steve Bruce as Newcastle United drop points against Aston Villa

Ahmed Elmohamady and Steve Bruce go back a long way.
Ahmed El Mohamady of Aston Villa celebrates with Kortney Hause after scoring.Ahmed El Mohamady of Aston Villa celebrates with Kortney Hause after scoring.
Ahmed El Mohamady of Aston Villa celebrates with Kortney Hause after scoring.

But Elmohamady – who played under Bruce at Sunderland, Hull City and Aston Villa - came back to haunt his old boss as Newcastle United dropped two points against relegation-threatened Villa in a behind-closed-doors clash.

Dwight Gayle had given the hosts the lead with a smart finish before Elmohamady levelled in the 83d minute after a Martin Dubravka error.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The fact Elmohamady scored was not lost on Sunderland supporters, with one fan, Nick @nicholaswilso11 posting on Twitter: “Always rated Elmohamady.”

Elmohamady felt Villa deserved all three points having ‘controlled’ the game.

He told BT Sport: “We controlled the game, especially in the first half, we had some big chances, Trezeguet should have scored but we’ll take the point away from home, it’s always a tough place to come.

“One thing we have been working on is the set-pieces, for us and against us. We’ve conceded a lot this season but we’ve been solid in the past few games and today it has worked for us. Thankfully, I came on and scored.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Since we came back, we have had a lot of set-pieces and we’re working on the training ground very hard, since we came back from lockdown, and thankfully it came to me and I scored.

“We have eight more games to go, it’s hard but we’re all together for it. Like the gaffer said, we don’t want to go out of the division. Aston Villa is a massive club, everyone wants to keep the club in the Premier League.”