Aston Villa fought back twice to secure a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace, but frustration remains after another disappointing performance.
The visitors took an early lead but Ollie Watkins drew us level just after the half hour mark, before a shambolic end to the first half saw Villa go into the interval behind again.
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After Youri Tielemans missed from the penalty spot, Palace scored from the resulting corner and looked set to secure all three points as Villa struggled to create clear openings in the second half.
Fortunately, Ross Barkley’s excellent header from a Tielemans corner salvaged a point, but it was another frustrating display from Villa as our poor form goes on.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Crystal Palace:
Emiliano Martinez, 7.5 – Little he could have done for either goal as he was left badly exposed by our defence, but he produced a number of saves throughout the game, including a pivotal one after our second equaliser to ensure we secured a point at least.
Lamare Bogarde, 5.5 – Worked hard on and off the ball but he struggled at times as he was guilty of making a few misplaced passes and couldn’t help us build out from the back despite having more space and time than others. Replaced at half-time.
Diego Carlos, 5 – Didn’t get tight enough to Mateta for the opening goal or thereafter, and was generally off the pace and didn’t provide us with a sense of defensive solidity. Villa consistently look vulnerable when he’s in the backline, while there’s also the danger of an error from him too.
Pau Torres, 6 – Played a key pass in the build-up to our first goal to reiterate his importance to our play in possession, but along with the entire backline, once again we weren’t good enough defensively and can’t keep leaking so many goals.
Ian Maatsen, 6 – Did well in the circumstances in his first start in the Premier League this season, but collectively, the backline were poor. His technical ability is an added bonus in the position, while his recovery pace was crucial on occasion too.
Ross Barkley, 7 – Scored the crucial equaliser that salvaged a point for us, and was generally tidy with his play as he kept us ticking on the ball with his distribution and energy. A positive return to the starting line-up.
Youri Tielemans, 6 – Missed from the spot in a crucial moment in the game, and although he was willing to try and thread a key pass through when others were perhaps hesitant, he was a little too sloppy with his distribution. Villa struggled in midfield, particularly on the counter, as we lacked a dominant and physically imposing presence next to one of Tielemans or Barkley.
Leon Bailey, 6 – Showed glimpses of his quality and went close with an effort that hit the crossbar, but he’s still lacking confidence and belief in his play. That’s evident when he’s in 1v1 situations, but hopefully he’s on the right track to a consistent return to form.
John McGinn, 6.5 – Produced the assist for Watkins to score our first, and went close to getting on the scoresheet himself in the second half. A decent shift as he always puts in a lot of energy and tenacity, but lacked quality to go with it at times.
Morgan Rogers, 5.5 – He struggled again in this one as he’s not looking as sharp or powerful as he did to start the season. Sloppy in possession, he’s looking for a way to get back to his best and hopefully it comes soon.
Ollie Watkins, 6.5 – Took his goal really well as it was a good finish to firstly round the goalkeeper, but he did have other chances in the game with which he didn’t show enough ruthlessness. Needs to be sharper and more clinical in front of goal.
Substitutes:
Matty Cash, 5.5 – Decent enough after coming on at half-time. He’ll be crucial once Ezri Konsa is back too as we need him to be a consistent and steady presence at right-back.
Lucas Digne, 5.5 – Surprisingly left out of the starting XI, came on and kept it tidy as we searched for a winner but similarly to most of our defence, we looked vulnerable even after our second equaliser.
Jhon Duran, 5.5 – Added a different dynamic in attack as we pushed for a winner, but couldn’t provide a telling bit of quality to make the difference.
Emiliano Buendia, N/A
Jaden Philogene, N/A
