Aston Villa locked horns with Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to pick up a positive result on the road. The Villans made a bright start to the game and took the lead in the 41st minute courtesy of Ross Barkley’s goal. The West Midlands outfit went into the half-time break with a narrow one-goal advantage.
The Saints threw everything but the kitchen sink in the second 45 minutes but were denied an equaliser by some outstanding defending from Dean Smith’s men. The contest finished with Aston Villa claiming a hard-fought 1-0 win at the south coast of England.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the match against the Saints.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 8/10
The Villans keeper made some fine saves to keep his side ahead in the game. Dean Smith will be over the moon with his performance tonight.
RB: Matty Cash – 7.5/10
Cash didn’t put a foot wrong when defending deep inside his half but struggled to influence the game in the attacking end of the field.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 7/10
The talented centre-back cleared the danger when required and produced a solid display to secure another shutout in the Premier League.
CB: Tyronne Mings – 8/10
Mings was a rock at the back and was not shy of clearing his lines when the Saints were pushing forward in search of the equaliser. He did well to get over the line with the clean sheet in the bag.
LB: Matt Targett – 8/10
Targett made many important tackles during the game and even created one good chance in the final third.
CM: John McGinn – 7/10
The Scottish midfielder made life difficult for the opposition at the centre of the park and deserves credit for his tenacity to win the ball back for his team. However, he didn’t offer much going forward.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7/10
The Brazilian midfield ace managed to provide adequate defensive protection for his backline and even blocked a goal-bound shot from the opposition.
LW: Jack Grealish – 7.5/10
Grealish worked hard to track back and defend when needed and was a good outlet for the Villans on the counter. He set-up Barkley’s goal in the first half and showed great determination to get forward in the latter stages of the game.
CAM: Ross Barkley – 7/10
The English midfielder got his name on the scoresheet with a superb header in the 41st minute. However, he was guilty of squandering a great chance to double his goal tally in the second half.
RW: Bertrand Traore – 6.5/10
Traore showed a few promising signs in the final third but didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 7/10
Watkins worked hard to make some clever runs behind the opposition backline and will be disappointed for not finding the back of the net.
Substitutes:
CM: Marvelous Nakamba – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
