Aston Villa came away with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday, securing a decent point given the poor performance that we ultimately produced.
Morgan Rogers put us ahead in the first half with a brilliant finish after good work from Jadon Sancho to provide the assist, and while it was hoped at that stage that Villa would build on our lead and take control of the game, the second-half display was hugely disappointing.
The hosts deserved their equaliser after a woeful passage of play from Lucas Digne and a defensive breakdown, and they continued to threaten from that point onwards with Emiliano Martinez producing a number of top saves.
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It’s Brighton at home for Villa on Wednesday night in our next league fixture, and we certainly need to start improving and get back to winning ways more consistently after setbacks at Villa Park against Everton and Brentford in recent weeks.
This performance didn’t offer too much reassurance that we’re getting on the right track amid critical injury setbacks, but hopefully we’re able to bounce back and improve on this battling draw.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Bournemouth:
Emiliano Martinez, 8 – Seemed to parry efforts back into dangerous areas in the first half which caused us more problems, but he produced a string of important saves to keep it level thereafter and ensure that we came away with a point at least. Decisive, strong case for our Man of the Match.
Matty Cash, 7 – Battled hard throughout in a solid defensive display, and almost got on the scoresheet at the other end with an effort that forced a fantastic save to deny him.
Ezri Konsa, 7 – Controlled shift as he defended diligently and remained composed in possession to give us a strong foundation on which to build in the game.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Produced countless clearances and was solid defensively, but he’ll have to take part of the responsibility in the passage of play that led to the equaliser as it was far too easy for Bournemouth to break through into our box.
Lucas Digne, 5 – Baffling decision to let his man go past so easily in a dangerous area, clearly believing that one of his teammates would close him down. Costly error, and he struggled throughout in this one as the hosts caused us problems down our left side for most of the game.
Amadou Onana, 7 – Appeared to be struggling with a knock towards the end of the first half, but he was a really crucial presence in midfield. Protected the backline, broke the first Bournemouth press well at times to get us moving up the pitch and was a critical presence on set-pieces to clear danger.
Douglas Luiz, 6.5 – Had good periods in the game where he was able to get on the ball and give us some sense of control, while his partnership with Onana looked effective at times. However, it faded as we struggled for any control in the second half as our midfield was overran.
Emiliano Buendia, 6 – Showed glimpses of quality in our build-up play to help offer a threat, but there wasn’t enough quality in our play in that area of the pitch to make the difference and get on top in the first half when the game was more balanced.
Jadon Sancho, 6.5 – Did brilliantly to provide the assist for Rogers, and his clever movement drifting inside off the right wing was adding an important dynamic to our play. Similarly to most of the team, he faded as the game went on and became very limited in the second half.
Morgan Rogers, 7.5 – Produced an emphatic finish for his goal as he continues to offer a decisive presence in the final third, and he found good positions to threaten in the first half. However, as we really started to struggle in the second half, we had no real threat at all in Bournemouth’s defensive third.
Ollie Watkins, 5.5 – Looked a step too slow for most of the game and wasn’t in the necessary positions to find the back of the net when we did get dangerous balls into the box. Losing physical battles and short of pace, it was a really limited impact from our frontman.
Substitutes:
Leon Bailey, 5 – Didn’t offer a great deal after coming on as he struggled to get at his marker and provide a threat down our right side. Surrendered possession often as we had no creative quality in the second half.
Ross Barkley, N/A
Ian Maatsen, N/A
Tammy Abraham, N/A
Lamare Bogarde, N/A
