Aston Villa secured a 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday evening to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers ensured we advanced, as Villa made a lightning-quick start to take the lead in the opening minute, before Rogers doubled our advantage in the second half.
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There were a nervy final few minutes after the visitors halved their deficit after Villa lacked a clinical edge prior to that to kill the game off, but fortunately, we were able to see it out, advance and keep our hopes of silverware alive.
It was both an encouraging performance and win that will delight Unai Emery, although there was another injury setback in defence which will be a concern moving forward.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Tottenham:
Emiliano Martinez, 8 – Made a huge save to deny Son at 1-0, and that was a massive moment in the game to protect our lead and allow us to build on a strong start. Made a few more stops to show his class when called upon.
Andres Garcia, 7 – A tidy shift from the Spaniard who defended diligently and was accurate with his distribution. Pushed forward to overlap and create width to our play at times too, positive outing for him.
Ezri Konsa, N/A – Big blow to lose him to an injury in the early stages, hopefully it isn’t serious.
Boubacar Kamara, 7.5 – Excellent display from the Frenchman as he had to marshal and organise a makeshift backline. Composed in possession, but was focused and committed throughout in carrying out his defensive duties.
Lucas Digne, 7.5 – Strong performance as he was important defensively to keep things tight at the back, while he was sharp and incisive with his passing at times to get us moving onto the front-foot.
John McGinn, 8 – Immense in the middle as his work ethic and tenacity was crucial in giving us control and a foothold. Constantly pressured and won back possession, covered lots of ground to impose himself on the game.
Youri Tielemans, 7.5 – Classy as always with his passing to help us transition quickly into attack, the Belgian international was an important link in midfield to add rhythm and fluidity to our play which helped us cut through Tottenham’s defensive shape consistently.
Leon Bailey, 7 – Positive intent from the Villa winger, as he looked a threat in the first half in particular, testing Kinsky on a couple of occasions. He’s under pressure to keep his place in the starting line-up now given the calibre of players in the squad, but he showed he can still be a key cog in the side.
Donyell Malen, 7.5 – A lot of promising signs from the Dutchman, but it was his movement which stood out as well as his ability to hold up play and link things together. Created the opening for Rogers to score our second, and so he made a really positive impact to show what he can offer.
Jacob Ramsey, 8 – Will be disappointed that he only scored once, as he had chances to kill the game off and put us in full control. However, his movement off the ball and positional awareness to get into those dangerous situations showed why he’s so important and effective for us, and hopefully he’ll be more clinical in front of goal moving forward.
Morgan Rogers, 8 – Another top display as he was a menace for Tottenham with his powerful driving runs into the final third. Showed his versatility to switch to different positions throughout the game, and was once again in the right place at the right time to add another goal to his tally for the season.
Substitutes:
Lamare Bogarde, 7 – Marked down after losing Tel in the box for Tottenham’s goal, but overall, he can be pleased with his efforts as it can’t have been an easy situation to come into, but he managed it well to keep things tight for the most part.
Marcus Rashford, 7.5 – Electric. Set the tone with his work-rate off the ball to press high up the pitch, but showed good touch and desire to give us a spark in the latter stages. Really promising first impression.
Marco Asensio, 7.5 – Classy. Showed a delightful touch and flair in the final third to open things up and give us a different dynamic with his vision and technical ability. Both debutants were a joy to watch in the final 20 minutes.
Ian Maatsen, N/A
