Aston Villa secured a 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, with goals from Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia sealing all three points.
Villa produced a high-quality first-half performance as we dominated possession and got an early breakthrough via Luiz, although we lacked a clinical edge to our play thereafter to stretch our lead before the break.
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Credit goes to the visitors for their response in the second half as they did enjoy a dangerous spell of their own, but after Ramsey doubled our lead in the latter stages, it was all one-way traffic as Villa continued to push for another.
We were rewarded late on with Buendia’s header, and it’s another important clean sheet and win at home as we continue to push on and make a real challenge to not only stay in the top half of the Premier League, but start to compete for a spot in Europe.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Bournemouth:
Emi Martinez, 7 – Produced a big moment in the game with his save to deny Billing’s free-kick. Accurate with his distribution out from the back as he was a calm head between the posts to help build our play.
Matty Cash, 8 – Disciplined performance defensively as he stayed switched on throughout and dealt with danger when needed. Enjoying a strong run in the side now to cement his place in that right-back role under Emery.
Ezri Konsa, 7.5 – Caught out on one or two occasions but recovered well and put in a solid defensive shift overall. Used his reading of the game, positioning well to snuff out danger.
Tyrone Mings, 8 – Brilliant defensive performance as he was strong in the tackle and dominant in the air. Composed and accurate with his passing out from the back and capped it off with a superb defensive intervention in the second half to deny Solanke. Almost added a goal to his day’s work late on but a solid display from Mings.
Alex Moreno, 7.5 – Another good shift down that left flank as he did well defensively to get back and deal with the threat down that side, but continued to burst forward to provide an attacking outlet. Showed good quality to create chances to cross, albeit he couldn’t find the last killer pass to grab an assist.
Leon Bailey, 6.5 – A much better showing from him today as he provided the assist for Luiz’s goal with a nice burst inside the box to create the opening. Showed glimpses aside from that as he did well to link our play together, but was still pretty quiet and not entirely back to full confidence just yet. A good starting point though to find better form.
Douglas Luiz, 8 – Superb in the Villa midfield with his passing and ability to dictate tempo and keep us ticking in possession. Added a goal to his afternoon’s work with a crucial opener for us after a good driving run into the box, and it’s important we see him get forward like that more often to get goals and assists more regularly.
John McGinn, 7.5 – Put in an important shift to help us win the midfield scrap. Got about the pitch well to give us a physical presence and command, and although he almost made a costly error as we played out from the back, he was tidy in possession for the most part and did well after picking up a caution to manage his combativeness.
Jacob Ramsey, 8 – Eventually rewarded for his positive performance with our second goal, as he took it really well having produced a great burst inside the box to find space, then tucked away the finish. A real threat with his runs into the box all game and from deeper, and was unfortunate prior to his goal not to get on the scoresheet having got into good positions.
Emiliano Buendia, 7 – Will be disappointed that his creativity and killer through-balls weren’t converted as he created two big chances in the first half but neither Bailey nor Watkins could finish. Huffed and puffed throughout as he found good pockets of space to offer a threat, and was eventually able to make a decisive contribution with his late header as he nodded home our third.
Ollie Watkins, 7 – Had a couple of really decent chances that he couldn’t convert which he’ll be frustrated with, but he continues to offer a real threat up top and leads the line well. Dropped into space on the left side on a few occasions to set others on their way in dangerous attacking moves, and that part of his game is important too as he’s adapting well to the all-round job required of him as the main forward.
Substitutes:
Bertrand Traore, 6 – Tried to inject some freshness and creativity in the last 25 minutes or so. Showed glimpses of quality but couldn’t make a decisive impact.
Calum Chambers, N/A
Jhon Duran, N/A
