Aston Villa secured a superb 4-1 win over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night, as we temporarily at least move top of Group E in the Europa Conference League.
Given the quality and form of the hosts leading up to this encounter, it was expected to be a difficult night for Villa, but Unai Emery’s tactical set-up coupled with the performance of the players was excellent, and it led to a stunning victory.
READ MORE: Villa star reiterates Champions League, trophy ambitions and targets
Goals from Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn sealed the deserved three points, and although there was a shaky period after we conceded, it was a dominant, composed and assured European performance on the road.
Following the disappointment of our defeat away at Legia Warsaw in the opening fixture of the group, it was impressive to see how we’ve learned from that, and it puts us in a strong position now ahead of the visit of AZ in a fortnight’s time.
Aston Villa player ratings vs AZ Alkmaar:
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Beaten by a top strike, but was otherwise commanding of his area and pulled off an important save in the second half just as AZ were building momentum following their goal. Refused to be rushed in possession, as he was key in our play out from the back.
Matty Cash, 8 – Full of energy as usual in getting up and down the right flank. Defensively sound as although he was beaten at times, showed good recovery skills to limit their threat down that side.
Diego Carlos, 8 – Showed great physicality and composure in and out of possession, while he was key in keeping the backline organised to catch AZ offside on multiple occasions. Solid.
Clement Lenglet, 8 – Worked well with Carlos in keeping things tight through the middle, and was assured on the ball even with AZ making it difficult for us to get the ball into midfield. A positive shift considering his lack of minutes prior.
Lucas Digne, 7.5 – Another top display as he did well defensively to limit AZ on our left, while he pushed forward to stretch the pitch and give us width too. Will be disappointed having been caught out for the goal, but he’s continuing to play a pivotal role for us whilst maintaining a heavy workload.
John McGinn, 8.5 – An unbelievable pass that he threaded through for Tielemans’ goal, and then made a brilliant run and matched it with a top-class finish to make it 4-0. A great effort from the Villa captain before getting a rest in the latter stages.
Boubacar Kamara, 7.5 – Got caught in possession a couple of times and was fortunate that we didn’t get punished, but his physical presence and calmness in midfield, coupled with his ability to drop into that vacated right-back area in possession as part of the team set-up, continues to show how crucial he is for us.
Douglas Luiz, 7.5 – AZ were clearly trying to prevent us from getting the ball into his feet, and although he was more limited in this one, he still showed his class on the ball when involved to help us dictate and control proceedings. Like Kamara, was key off the ball too in making it difficult for the hosts to build up any rhythm to their play.
Youri Tielemans, 8.5 – Superb. His best performance since pre-season, he was pressing with energy and intensity to force mistakes, was accurate in possession and took his goal really well. This is the standard for him now, as he also showed great versatility and tactical flexibility to drift into different areas and positions.
Leon Bailey, 8.5 – A top strike to break the deadlock having squandered a chance just a minute earlier. His assist for McGinn’s goal was excellent too, while he was influential in the lead up to Watkins’ goal. Hopefully building momentum now and can be a consistent decisive presence in the final third for us.
Ollie Watkins, 7.5 – Showed good instincts and positioning to tap home our third, while his movement and use of his speed was vital as he caused AZ’s defence problems and stretched them to create space elsewhere. Was also really effective dropping deeper and linking things together, and so it was another impressive shift from the Villa frontman.
Substitutes:
Nicolo Zaniolo, 6 – Didn’t add much in the latter stages with the game already won, but played his part in keeping possession and helping us to see out the game.
Moussa Diaby, N/A
Leander Dendoncker, N/A
Jhon Duran, N/A
Bertrand Traore, N/A
