Aston Villa player ratings after League Cup penalty shoot-out defeat against Brentford
An improved Villa performance will give Unai Emery some decisions to make before the next Premier League fixture
September is far too early in the season for a penalty shoot-out but that’s the tie-breaker that settled this Carabao Cup third round tie at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Aston Villa were undone by a long throw-in from Brentford after taking the lead through their first goal in any competition this season, condemning all of us to the misery of spot kicks in Villa’s first League Cup game of the season.
Villa paid the price thanks to two saves from Brentford goalkeeper, losing 4-2 on penalties having trailed from the very first kick. John McGinn and Matty Cash were the players whose kicks were stopped.
Here are the ratings:
Marco Bizot - 7
Important save to keep out a header from a corner in the middle of the first half; a save he’d expect to make ten times out of ten but necessary nonetheless. Clawed one off the line just after the hour as long throw-ins started causing problems. Good handling when called upon.
Villa still invite the press with him in goal but he releases the ball a little quicker than Emiliano Martínez and it seems to keep the whole team moving better even though the quality of distribution is diminished.
Matty Cash - 6
Useful intervention high on the right to create an turnover that should have yielded more in the early minutes. Brentford didn’t try to do a great deal on their left so Cash’s best work tended to be a result of pressing in their half. Tenacious defensively when required – doesn’t always win his first challenge but he does everything he can to get a second crack.
Picked out a nice left-footed cross to win a corner with nine minutes left. He was still out on the left after taking that corner when his back-post volley from McGinn’s cross was saved.
Ezri Konsa - 7
Good positioning to clear with Bizot beaten in the middle of the first half, though the shot was going wide. Superb block to deny Dango Ouattara early in the second half after 50 minutes of playing well within his comfort zone and dealing with everything that came near him. It was more of the same thereafter.
Pau Torres - 5
Didn’t shy away from the physical side of playing against Ouattara but always looked troubled by his lack of pace when Villa were outnumbered or even-handed at the back. Awful clearing header before Aaron Hickey’s equalising goal and painfully slow when it comes to getting a pass or cross away.
Ian Maatsen - 8
Excellent defending to rob the ball off Ouattara in a dangerous position after quarter of an hour and it wasn’t his last piece of proper defensive full-back work by a long shot. Offered width on the left and looked to get up on the overlap even with Jadon Sancho operating almost as a winger.
Our Holy Trinity of conclusions for this match will be available tomorrow for paid AVR subscribers. Upgrade now for wraparound match coverage and other features for just £4 per month.
John McGinn - 7
Orchestrating early on in midfield, where he looks so much more comfortable. Won the ball with Brentford playing at the back to create Villa’s first goal of the season for Harvey Elliott. Brilliant in-swinging cross for the chance that Cash had saved inside the last ten minutes.
Lovely bit of defending on the cover with Brentford breaking after half an hour.
Lamare Bogarde - 8
Quality on and off the ball again. Happy to receive it under pressure and able to make it work for him in midfield, and streetwise in his defensive duties. A couple of very good performances back to back.
Booked for a foul in the 68th minute and substituted a few minutes later.
Harvey Elliott - 7
Free to roam and get on the ball, which Villa have been missing. Linked play nicely, picked up dangerous bits of space between the lines, and did everything like he meant it.
First shot on target in the second minute, albeit easy work for the goalkeeper. Soon followed up with a cross for Torres to head wide. Alive to the opportunity when McGinn pinched the ball to score Villa’s first of the season with a huge helping hand from the goalkeeper. Substituted in the 67th minute.
Jadon Sancho - 6
Got on the ball early on the left and full of intent. Willing to try and beat Brentford’s right-back. Hit the post early in the second half. Substituted in the 74th minute.
Evann Guessand - 6
Bright start, dropping into pockets and holding some width on the right. Stepped in and span behind five minutes into the second half and was finally picked out to get Villa into a threatening position that culminated in Sancho’s shot off the post.
Booked for an untidy tackle again in the 25th minute. Substituted with ten minutes to go.
Donyell Malen - 5
Struggled with his first touch at times, inadvertently snuffing out promising situations. Great turn and poor shot in the 67th minute but ultimately not up to scratch at centre-forward and was substituted just afterwards.
Substitutes
Morgan Rogers (for Malen, 67) - Lovely turn for his first touch and nearly picked out a Watkins run. Another turn and shot with five minutes left, went rampaging in stoppage time, and started to look like Morgan Rogers again. 7
Ollie Watkins (for Elliott, 67) - Came on and made the right runs in the right moments. 6
Boubacar Kamara (for Bogarde, 74) - Straight into the thick of it and making tackles but getting tackled too. Mugged late on by Mikkel Damsgaard. 5
Emi Buendía (for Sancho, 74) - Showed his usual bite off the ball and a few very clever touches. 5
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba (for Guessand, 80) - Late substitute. N/A