Aston Villa faced off against Bolton Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to pick up a good result on their travels and book a place in the third of the EFL Cup. The Villans made a sloppy start to the game and conceded the opening goal in the 24th minute when Dion Charles found the back of the net. However, the West Midlands club scored the equaliser just 12 minutes later when Douglas Luiz scored with a brilliant strike from a difficult angle. Both sides went into the half-time break with a 1-1 scoreline.
Danny Ings scored from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute to put Aston Villa 2-1 up on the night. The Villans went on to score two more times, thanks to a goal each from Lucas Digne and Leon Bailey. The match ended with Steven Gerrard’s men securing an impressive 4-1 win on the road.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player performed during the clash against Bolton Wanderers.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 6.5/10
The Argentine keeper made a couple of decent saves but will be disappointed for conceding a goal midway through the first half.
RB: Ashley Young – 7/10
The veteran full-back was defensively solid and made two key chances in the final third.
CB: Calum Chambers – 7/10
The English centre-back cleared the danger when needed and earned the ball back a couple of times for his team.
CB: Tyrone Mings – 7/10
He made a lot of crucial clearances at the back and did enough to restrict the home side from scoring more than once.
LB: Lucas Digne – 7.5/10
The French talent did what was required of him when defending inside his half. He was a threat going forward as well and got rewarded with a goal in the second half.
CDM: Boubacar Kamara – 6.5/10
He anchored the midfield well but offered very little in the Bolton half.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7/10
The Brazilian talent protected his teammates at the back when needed and scored the all-important equaliser with an excellent strike.
CM: John McGinn – 6/10
He struggled to get a foothold in the game at times and was wasteful in the final third.
CAM: Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
Coutinho caused a lot of headaches for the opposition but failed to register a goal tonight.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 6/10
He made two good chances in the final third but never got a sniff at goal.
ST: Danny Ings – 7.5/10
Ings kept his calm from the penalty spot to give Aston Villa the lead just after the hour mark. He has also got an assist to show for his efforts.
Substitutes:
CAM: Emiliano Buendia – 7/10
He produced a nice cameo off the bench and did well to pick up an assist.
RW: Leon Bailey – 7/10
He scored a good goal late in the game to seal the win in style for the Villans.
CM: Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
Ramsey added more energy to Gerrard’s midfield.
ST: Cameron Archer – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
CM: Tim Iroegbunam – N/A
He didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
