Aston Villa played hosts to Newcastle United at Villa Park earlier tonight hoping to earn maximum points at home. The Villans made a dream start to the game as they took the lead in the 13th minute courtesy of Ollie Watkins’ goal. Bertrand Traore doubled his team’s lead just before the half-time break to put the West Midlands outfit in a commanding position at the midway point of the game.
Both sides fought tooth and nail in the second 45 minutes but failed to add to the goal tally. The contest finished 2-0 in favour of Dean Smith’s men as they climbed to the eighth position in the Premier League table.
Let’s take a look at how each Aston Villa player performed during the match against the Magpies.
GK: Emiliano Martinez – 7/10
The Villans keeper was hardly tested during the 90 minutes and earned an easy clean sheet at home. He was also tidy with his passing out from the back.
RB: Matty Cash – 7/10
Cash made quite a few important interceptions and dealt with everything that came his way inside his half.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 7.5/10
The English defensive ace was a dominant presence at the back as he cleared the danger well when called into action. Konsa will be quite happy with the clean sheet tonight.
CB: Tyronne Mings – 7/10
Mings was always willing to clear his lines when needed and dominated the aerial battle with the opposition. He did enough to restrict the Magpies from finding the back of the net.
LB: Matt Targett – 8/10
Targett did what was asked of him in defence and was a decent outlet for his team going forward.
CM: Douglas Luiz – 6/10
He gave away some cheap fouls and struggled to create enough meaningful openings for his teammates in the final third.
CM: Marvelous Nakamba – 7/10
Nakamba did well to provide adequate protection for his teammates at the back and was very accurate with his passing during the game.
RM: Bertrand Traoré – 7.5/10
He was a real headache for the Newcastle defenders as he used his pace well and scored the decisive second goal just before the half-time break.
CAM: Ross Barkley – 6.5/10
The English playmaker had a few bright moments on the field but failed to get his name on the scoresheet.
LM: Jack Grealish – 7.5/10
The Aston Villa captain engineered some promising opportunities for others around him and hardly gave away the ball.
ST: Ollie Watkins – 7/10
Watkins scored the all-important opening goal in the 13th minute, putting the Villans in pole position to bag the three points. The goal will do his confidence a world of good.
Substitutes:
RM: Trezeguet – 5/10
He was a bit sloppy when in possession of the ball.
CAM: Anwar El Ghazi – 6/10
El Ghazi offered some fresh legs on the pitch.
LM: Jacob Murphy – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
