Aston Villa hosted Everton at Villa Park looking to grab their first point of the season, and that is precisely what they did as they secured a 2-0 victory on the night.
Everton were quick off the blocks, and they looked sharp and threatening for the first 20 minutes. Villa were hardly able to get into the game, but they scored against the run of play as Jota picked out Moraes with a smart pass who finished calmly. After that, Villa looked more confident, and it was a brilliantly matched game in the first 45.
The Merseyside club pushed hard in the second half and they dominated the proceedings. Villa were just about hanging on, but Everton were wasteful in the final third. Iwobi managed to hit the post and later on Walcott squandered an absolute sitter. Villa got their second through El Ghazi who scored late on in the game to wrap up the three points for the home side.
Here is how Smith’s men fared.
Tom Heaton 6
Everton dominated the possession, but they failed to test Heaton much. Dealt well with high balls.
Tyrone Mings 7.5
Put his everything down the line to keep the lead intact. Read the dangers well and made some crucial blocks.
Björn Engels 7
Like his defensive partner, Engels put in a committed display at the back.
Frédéric Guilbert 7
Provided a lot of attacking output by making darting runs down the right. Defensively too, he looked solid. A complete performance.
Neil Taylor 6
Seamus Coleman managed to get goal-side of him on two or three occasions. Had a tough game down the left.
Douglas Luiz 7
Sat back deep and did the nitty-gritty job well in midfield. When in possession, he used his body well to protect the ball.
John McGinn 7.5
Started slowly but once his engine was warm enough, the Scotsman was everywhere on the pitch. Produced some impressive defence-splitting passes as well. Worked his socks off and got an assist in the end.
Jack Grealish 6.5
Was sloppy on the ball on quite a few occasions. Had a significant role to play for the first goal as he took the free-kick quickly, which caught Everton napping.
Trezeguet 6
Worked hard, but most of Villa’s attack was coming from the right-hand side. Tracked back when required.
Jota 8
Drove the ball forward with intensity and picked out a brilliant pass for the first goal. His smart touches and ability to go past defenders was there to see.
Wesley Moraes 9
Smith will hope that this will be a coming of age performance for the Brazilian. Took his chance with aplomb for the goal. Could have added another soon after but he was a bit late to pull the trigger. Brilliant with his movement and hold up play. A classic no. 9 performance from Moraes.
Substitutes
Anwar El Ghazi 7
Provided fresh legs and that helped him in scoring the goal late on in the game.
Ahmed Elmohamady N/A
Didn’t play enough to warrant a rating.
