Aston Villa secured a 2-1 win over Burnley on Sunday in the Premier League, as we made it four consecutive wins across all competitions.
A brace from Donyell Malen sealed the three points for Villa, who produced a controlled and measured performance for the most part, albeit there was a nervy end to the game after the visitors pulled one back.
Fortunately though, Villa were able to hold out and extend our winning run, and we’ll certainly be feeling a lot happier heading into this international break compared to the last.
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Malen produced two fantastic finishes as he made a decisive impact on the game to earn the Man of the Match award, as Villa now get a chance to regroup over the break, continue to recover injured players with Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana making their respective comebacks this weekend, and we’ll face Tottenham on October 19 in a much healthier position thanks to our recent run of form.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Burnley:
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Returned from his calf injury and made a decisive save in the first half to show his class. Perhaps will feel as though he should have commanded his box better for the goal conceded, but he was let down by poor marking too.
Matty Cash, 7 – Another tidy shift from the Villa right-back, as he defended diligently throughout and pushed higher whenever possible to create width and stretch the pitch for others to exploit space.
Ezri Konsa, 8 – Always in control with his elite positioning and reading of the game. Constantly had Lyle Foster under wraps, while his distribution was accurate throughout too as he helped us control the game.
Pau Torres, 7 – Continued his impressive recent form as he looked strong in defensive duels, while he continues to give us composure and class in possession to build out from the back. Looked as though he may have lost Lesley Ugochukwu for the goal though.
Lucas Digne, 7 – Booked for a late tackle in the second half, but that aside, it was a decent display from the Frenchman as he defended well and got forward to provide an attacking dynamic. Denied by a fine save in the latter stages as he threatened to get on the scoresheet too.
Lamare Bogarde, 7.5 – Growing into that midfield role as he provided defensive protection for the backline with his qualities in that phase of the game, while he’s clearly growing in confidence on the ball too as he drove forward at times to escape pressure and help us build attacks. Promising signs.
Boubacar Kamara, 8 – What a player. Superb pass to send Malen through on goal for his first, while his positional and tactical intelligence saw him once again help us dictate and control the game in midfield as he broke up Burnley’s play and retained possession well throughout.
Donyell Malen, 8.5 – Two brilliant runs to create the openings for himself, and that was matched by two stunning finishes as he was ruthless in front of goal. Great to see him make a decisive impact in the starting line-up as he can nail down that position if he shows more consistency moving forward.
John McGinn, 7 – A solid shift from the Villa skipper as although he couldn’t keep his goalscoring form going, he played an important role in helping us control the game and establish a foothold throughout to dictate at our own tempo.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Still searching for his best form as he doesn’t look quite as sharp as he needs to be yet, but important for his confidence to register an assist. Did really well to find space between the lines before delivering the pass to put Malen through, and hopefully that’s a big boost for him after the international break.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Didn’t have too much involvement in the game aside from his clever runs into the channels to provide an outlet and creative presence, but he wasn’t clinical enough when chances did come his way in the first half as he needs to be putting those opportunities away.
Substitutes:
Emiliano Buendia, N/A
Evann Guessand, 6 – Did well in the latter stages to help us see out the game with his ball-carrying up the pitch to nullify Burnley’s threat.
Victor Lindelof, N/A
Ross Barkley, N/A
Amadou Onana, N/A
Ian Maatsen, N/A