Aston Villa produced a bitterly disappointing performance as we fell to a 1-0 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League.
Wilfried Singo’s eighth-minute header proved to be the decisive moment in the game, as Villa once again conceded a poor early goal, and this time there was a wastefulness at the other end that prevented us from turning it around.
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While we had our chances, this was a sloppy and messy display on the whole as we lacked sustained quality and incisive play to capitalise on our openings and mistakes from the hosts, and so it proved to be a huge opportunity missed in our bid to qualify for the next phase automatically.
Ultimately, it’s a pretty straight-forward game assessment in that if we can’t do the basics right, and it’s as simple as stop conceding soft goals and be more clinical, these results can happen, as the game gradually got away from us and we’re left to rue a wasted chance to cement our place in the top eight in the standings.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Monaco:
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Made a good save initially to deny Monaco their opener, but after we lost the first header, no one reacted quick enough to prevent the rebound effort that found the back of the net. Went on to produce a couple more key stops, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.
Matty Cash, 6.5 – Defended diligently and got forward when given the freedom to do so, but not enough quality with his end product to make the difference, as he had a good chance in the second half that he failed to take.
Ezri Konsa, 6.5 – Stood up well to Embolo in what was a physical battle and defended well for the most part. but we looked vulnerable when Monaco countered and didn’t deal with that effectively enough.
Tyrone Mings, 6.5 – Produced some stand-out blocks and clearances in addition to driving forward at times to try and open things up, but gets marked down as he gave the ball away cheaply which led to the corner that Monaco scored from.
Lucas Digne, 6 – A steady performance as always, as he was solid in both phases, and perhaps should have had an assist had there been better finishing from his teammates.
Boubacar Kamara, 6.5 – Played an important role in disrupting Monaco’s play and positionally, he was excellent in being able to regain possession and then help us to build sustained pressure. Like most of our defensive unit though, couldn’t prevent Monaco from looking a real threat in transition.
Youri Tielemans, 6.5 – Continued to probe throughout and was willing to try the pass to unlock the Monaco defence, but couldn’t execute cleanly and offer a decisive impact. Sloppy in possession at times too as we were left frustrated in midfield.
Leon Bailey, 5.5 – Poor from the Villa winger, as he missed a couple of big chances in the first half and didn’t look much of a threat in possession before being replaced early in the second half to sum up a disappointing night.
Emiliano Buendia, 6.5 – An encouraging shift from the Argentine playmaker, as he occupied good positions in the final third by finding pockets of space to be a link and add fluidity to our play. Should have had an assist to his name but poor finishing prevented that, but this was a promising effort as he continues to battle for a more prominent role.
Morgan Rogers, 5.5 – On a positive note, he was similar to Buendia in that he picked up the ball in dangerous areas and looked like posing a threat. However, that was ruined by his inability to keep the ball from that point on and he lost possession countless times. Needs to be better as we need more from him.
Ollie Watkins, 5.5 – Credit is due for his work-rate and movement to stretch the Monaco defence and create openings either for himself or others. However, he had a huge chance in the first half, and those are the type of chances he has to put away as they’re the difference between winning and losing close games.
Substitutes:
Jhon Duran, 5.5 – Didn’t make much of a difference in the latter stages. Added energy but no real goal threat as we struggled with the change in system to kick on and push for a result.
Ian Maatsen, 5.5 – Injected more energy and pace down the left flank but no end product to make a decisive impact.
Jacob Ramsey, N/A
Lamare Bogarde, N/A
