Aston Villa clashed heads with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier tonight hoping to grind out a result on the road. The Villans were on the back foot in the first 45 minutes but did well to go into the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
Man City pushed on in search of the all-important opening goal in the second half and finally managed to find the back of the net in the 79th minute courtesy of Bernardo Silva’s thunderous finish. Ilkay Gundogan made the points secure in the dying embers of the game when he converted a penalty as the contest finished with the West Midlands club suffering a disappointing 2-0 loss away at Manchester.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the match against Man City.
GK: Emiliano Martínez – 7/10
The Villa keeper made several important saves to keep his team in the game. However, he couldn’t do much about either of Man City’s two goals in the final quarter of the contest.
RB: Matty Cash – 6/10
Cash was a solid presence inside his half and defended valiantly when called into action. However, he failed to make an impact in the Man City half.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 6.5/10
The English centre-back was always willing to clear the danger when under pressure from the opposition. He also passed the ball relatively well out from the back.
CB: Tyronne Mings – 7/10
Mings was a rock at the heart of Dean Smith’s defence but committed the error which led to Bernardo Silva’s opening goal in the 79th minute. It was still an impressive defensive display from him today.
LB: Matt Targett – 7/10
He hardly gave away anything on the defensive end of the field. Like his full-back partner, Targett also struggled to influence the game in the attacking third and got replaced before the end of the game as he picked up an injury.
CM: John McGinn – 5.5/10
The Scottish midfield ace struggled to get a foothold in the game and didn’t create anything meaningful in the opposition half.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7.5/10
The Brazilian playmaker was an energetic presence in the Villans midfield and gave a good account of himself against his former club. He was always willing to run with the ball and was unfortunate not to score during the 90 minutes.
LW: Jack Grealish – 7/10
Most of Villa’s chance came through Grealish as he was the main orchestrator from the left flank. He created quite a few decent chances for his teammates but never looked like scoring himself which is unlike him.
CAM: Ross Barkley – 6/10
Barkley was not shy of having a few shots at goal but didn’t have his shooting boots on. He ran out of energy and got substituted in the second half.
RW: Bertrand Traoré – 6.5/10
Traore had a few bright moments during his time on the field but never looked like he had a goal in him.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 6.5/10
The Villa striker worked his socks off to run the channels but looked like a player out of form inside the Man City penalty box.
Substitutes:
LW: Anwar El Ghazi – 5/10
He offered very little after coming off the bench.
CAM: Jacob Murphy – 5/10
He struggled to get himself involved in the game.
LB: Neil Taylor – 5/10
Taylor came on and saw his teammates concede two quick-fire goals.
