Aston Villa entertained Zrinjski at Villa Park earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a positive result at home in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The Villans made a dominant start to the game but were held to a scoreless draw at the half-time interval.
Unai Emery’s men struggled to make the decisive breakthrough in the second half. However, they kept trying and finally found the winner thanks to John McGinn’s header in injury time. The contest ended with Aston Villa earning a narrow 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player fared during the clash against Zrinjski.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 6.5/10
The Argentine keeper had to make just one save in the game and kept a comfortable clean sheet at the back.
RB: Ezri Konsa – 6.5/10
He didn’t do much wrong when defending inside his half but offered very little going forward.
CB: Diego Carlos – 7/10
Carlos kept things solid at the back for most of the game and was replaced in the 82nd minute.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 7/10
The French talent dealt with the danger when required and did enough to restrict the opposition from scoring tonight.
LB: Lucas Digne – 6/10
Digne struggled to get into the flow of the game in the first half and was substituted at half-time.
RM: Leon Bailey – 6.5/10
Bailey used his pace well at times but failed to find the back of the net.
CM: Leander Dendoncker – 6/10
He lacked ideas in the first half and was replaced at half-time.
CM: Youri Tielemans – 6.5/10
Tielemans caused a few headaches for the opposition defenders but there was no goal for him.
LM: John McGinn – 8/10
The Scottish sensation worked his socks off and managed to score the winning goal with a good header in injury time.
ST: Nicolo Zaniolo – 6.5/10
Zaniolo showed a few flashes of what he could do but struggled to take his chances.
ST: Jhon Duran – 6/10
He struggled to threaten the opposition goal and was substituted at half-time.
Substitutes:
ST: Ollie Watkins – 7/10
Watkins made a positive impact off the bench and was a threat in the second half.
RM: Matty Cash – 7/10
He added more width to Aston Villa’s attack.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 7/10
Luiz added more energy to Emery’s midfield.
ST: Bertrand Traore – N/A
