Aston Villa took on Fulham at the Wembley Stadium in the English Championship playoff final with a promotion to the Premier League on the line. Steve Bruce opted for his favoured 4-1-4-1 formation but his side struggled to get a foothold in the game during the early stages of the match. Their defence was carved open by Ryan Sessegnon’s delicate pass in the 23rd minute when Tom Cairney was through on goal. The Scottish international kept his composure and scored with a smart finish. Soon after conceding the opener, Villa came back into the game but were left frustrated by some of their decision making in the first half.
The Villans came back strong in the second half but were unable to find an equaliser. Their London opponents went down to 10 men in the 70th minute but Villa failed to capitalise on the situation and ended up losing the match with a 1-0 scoreline.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player performed during the contest against the Cottagers.
GK: Sam Johnstone – 6/10
He made some good saves during the game but failed to keep a clean sheet on the day.
RB: Ahmed Elmohamady – 6/10
The Villa right-back did enough to deal with Ryan Sessegnon’s pace but was unable to have an impact in the opposition half.
CB: James Chester – 6/10
He struggled to cope with the physicality of Aleksandar Mitrovic during the game and was caught ball-watching during Ryan Sessegnon’s defence-splitting pass in the first half. However, the centre-back came back strong to put in a valiant effort after the break.
CB: John Terry – 6/10
The English defender looked a bit out of pace and was exposed at times by some fluid play by the Fulham attack.
LB: Alan Hutton – 6.5/10
He made some good runs down the right flank but was defensively at fault for not coping with the pace and power of Aboubakar Kamara.
CDM: Mile Jedinak – 6/10
The 33-year-old shielded his defence well and battled hard for every ball in midfield.
RM: Robert Snodgrass – 5/10
He was wasteful in the final third and squandered a lot of good chances during the contest.
CM: Conor Hourihane – 5.5/10
He put in a hard-working shift but it wasn’t enough to help his team earn a result on the day.
CM: Jack Grealish – 7.5/10
He was Villa’s biggest threat and got some excellent chances to score in the second half. However, he was unlucky not to be sent off for a reckless challenge.
LM: Albert Adomah – 6/10
The Villans wide man began the match well but his effect faded as the game went on.
ST: Lewis Grabban – 5/10
He didn’t do enough to retain possession for Villa and looked a bit jaded inside the Fulham box.
Substitutes:
ST: Scott Hogan – 5/10
He came on and hardly had any time to make an impact.
CAM: Joshua Onomah – 6/10
The attacking midfielder tried to create some chances but was left frustrated by a solid Fulham defence.
ST: Jonathan Kodjia – 5/10
He did not have enough time to find an equaliser.