Aston Villa player ratings as chance to go second spurned by hapless defeat against Everton
Villa had an opportunity to strengthen their position in the Premier League but never got going in rare home loss
After eleven home wins in a row, losing 1-0 without really laying a glove on Everton made for a frustrating afternoon at Villa Park.
Aston Villa were lacklustre in this Premier League defeat, to say the least. Everton were given a free goal by a pair of mistakes but Villa’s performance was undeniably that of a losing team at this level.
Everton hit the post after ten seconds and Villa were hindered by another first-half knee injury, this time to captain John McGinn. It’s easy to forget that Villa hit the crossbar at 0-0, so timid was their performance, but it was just one of the many reasons this could have been so different.
Here are the ratings:
Emiliano Martínez - 5
Tipped over from Vitalii Mykolenko after half an hour. Fumbled a nothing shot at the feet of Thierno Barry to gift Everton the first goal, ultimately costing Villa the game again.
Matty Cash - 7
All-action display at right-back with and without the ball, powering into tackles and making blocks at key moments. Sharp work on the cover. Misplaced a header back to Martínez that gave Everton a corner in the middle of the first period.
Ezri Konsa - 7
Always patient on the ball, even under pressure. Rarely tested defensively, with Everton’s damage all coming from the other side. Comfortable in possession.
Pau Torres - 4
Quickly set about progressing the play from the back and refused to be rushed. Happy to carry the ball out with little pressure from Everton.
Missed a ball he couldn’t afford to lose as last man late in the first half and Villa were fortunate to get away with it. Didn’t get away with an error just before the hour. After scoring, Barry started to bully Torres.
Ian Maatsen - 6
Tried his luck after ten minutes but a deflection took the sting out of his shot. Able to cause problems for Nathan Patterson when he turned on the afterburners, and gave Villa their most obvious source of attacking thrust before the break. Solid defensively before he was substituted in the 73rd minute.
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Lamare Bogarde - 6
Saw a good amount of the ball in midfield early on but dropped into a back three out of possession to release Youri Tielemans. Usually neat in possession but his radar was off on a couple of occasions. Did some fantastic work tracking runners in midfield when Villa gave the ball away.
Booked for a foul on Jack Grealish and was later withdrawn.
Youri Tielemans - 6
Won the ball back with a terrific tackle after five minutes. Played an outstanding through ball to send substitute Evann Guessand clear on half an hour. Curled in a beautiful cross for the Ivorian late in the first half but unable to produce a telling contribution. Headed wide in the 50th minute.
John McGinn - N/A
Used his body to outwit James Garner and always available to back up Cash against Grealish in the short time he was on the pitch. Went off with a knee injury inside the first quarter of an hour.
Emi Buendía - 6
Tried to tee up Morgan Rogers after stealing in behind early on, the first of many smart pieces of creative play.
Earned a yellow card for Dwight McNeil by letting the ball across his body to go past him in midfield and got Garner booked too, but was also prone to trying to be too clever when receiving the ball. Coughed up possession in the middle of the first period.
Morgan Rogers - 6
Skied Villa’s first shot of the game inside five minutes and lost control after driving into the box from a free kick routine but was constantly involved in Villa’s attacking play and Everton couldn’t live with it.
Presented with a chance by an excellent Maatsen run and pass but the shot was blocked. He snatched at his chances – blazed over with 25 minutes left and again three minutes later. Clipped a nice shot towards the top corner but Jordan Pickford kept it out with a superb save.
Ollie Watkins - 4
Pressing with Rogers helped Villa win the ball back in the Everton half but was involved in possession far too infrequently and final pass or shot lacked quality.
Substitutes
Evann Guessand (for McGinn, 18) - Returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty as an early substitute for injured McGinn.
Blocked a Grealish volley with his face. Caught on the ball after a poor first touch soon afterwards but worked hard to win it back. Great run on half an hour to collect a pass from Tielemans. Poor finish. Later hit the crossbar with a looping header that beat Pickford. Beaten too easily for a disallowed goal at 0-0. 5
Lucas Digne (for Maatsen, 73) - Got involved going forward with Villa chasing an equaliser but to no avail. 5
George Hemmings (for Bogarde, 73) - Home debut. Got himself on the ball, mobile, positive in possession and powerful on the run. 6