Aston Villa were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Sheffield Utd on Friday night at Villa Park, with a late Nicolo Zaniolo equaliser eventually salvaging a point for us.
Despite dominating and controlling the game with 78 percent possession, Villa were unable to turn that into a breakthrough as we were frustrated by the visitors who opted to defend deep and in numbers.
READ MORE: Emery provides insight on Villa’s transfer planning for January
That is a lesson that we’ll have to learn from as more teams will likely come with that approach moving forward given our success and way of playing, and so it’s hopefully a key experience that will help us in the long run.
However, it was vital that we fought back and picked up a point in this one as it was the least we deserved, and it was Zaniolo who bagged his first Premier League goal as Villa move joint top of the Premier League table for now.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Sheffield Utd:
Emiliano Martinez, 6.5 – Made a good save just prior to Archer’s goal, for which there was little he could do to deny the former Villa striker from close range. Looked frustrated with the lack of defensive effort and/or urgency from his defenders when looking to play out quickly.
Matty Cash, 5.5 – Provided energy down the right flank and defensively looked ok, but his distribution wasn’t good enough especially with a key role of bringing the ball out from the back and into more advanced areas as we looked a threat down that side.
Ezri Konsa, 6.5 – Will be disappointed with the space that Archer had in the box to grab his goal, but he looked in good form aside from that in a strong defensive display.
Clement Lenglet, 6.5 – Similar to Konsa in terms of the goal as someone needed to be much tighter, but he was solid defensively for the most part and was key in helping us build out from the back with his technical ability and composure.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Added width and stretched the pitch as we probed for a breakthrough, but couldn’t add a decisive touch to his attacking play. Eventually replaced by Alex Moreno, who will perhaps feel hard done by to lose his place for this one.
Leon Bailey, 6 – Looked a threat at times with his directness and pace, and he thought he’d broken the deadlock only for his goal to be ruled out. Positive effort, but we needed a more decisive impact from him given we looked dangerous down our right flank.
John McGinn, 6 – Did well to help us maintain our level of control throughout with good use of the ball and his physicality, but couldn’t make that all-important decisive impact from midfield. Will perhaps be disappointed not to have done better to cut out the cross that led to the goal, but a positive shift.
Douglas Luiz, 6.5 – Similar to McGinn in that he was crucial in helping us maintain control and possession to continue to probe for a breakthrough. Eventually his quality made the difference as it was his delivery into the box that found Zaniolo for our late equaliser.
Jacob Ramsey, 6 – Had his moments but couldn’t really hurt the Sheffield Utd backline given they were so deep, content to defend in numbers and pack key areas where we couldn’t create more of a threat. Will need to adapt and learn how he can impact games like this more effectively.
Moussa Diaby, 6 – Gets into good areas and poses a threat with his movement and instincts in and around the box, but he’s just lacking ruthlessness when those openings come his way. If he can be more clinical, he’ll make a much bigger impact.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Thought he had won a penalty early on which would have changed the entire complexion of the game. Battled hard in trying to lead the line, but was starved of any quality and consistent service to be able to be more a decisive presence in the final third.
Substitutes:
Alex Moreno, 6 – Almost scored again with a great run at the back post but saw his header well saved. Adds a more dynamic threat to our attack.
Jhon Duran, 5.5 – Worked hard out of possession, but didn’t really make too much of a difference in the latter stages.
Nicolo Zaniolo, 7 – Scored a crucial late goal with a top header to rescue a point for us. Coupled with his effort at Zrinjski, it’s hoped he’s now starting to find some form and consistency in front of goal to play a bigger part.
