Aston Villa secured a 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday afternoon, with Jhon Duran’s first-half effort proving enough to seal all three points.
In difficult conditions due to the weather, it wasn’t a vintage Villa performance by any means, but it was enough to grind out another important victory and long-awaited league clean sheet.
READ MORE: Impact of key Villa figure a decisive factor in long-awaited win
Had we been more ruthless in the latter stages, we may well have made it more comfortable for ourselves, but ultimately it’s six points in what was billed as a critical week for us given our winless streak prior to that.
Unai Emery will no doubt take positives from the display, but he’ll know that there is still room for improvement as we look to put a strong run of form together.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Southampton:
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Didn’t have a great deal to do, but he organised and marshalled his backline well throughout to finally secure a Premier League clean sheet again.
Ezri Konsa, 7.5 – Solid defensive shift having been asked to move across to right-back in this one, as Southampton had very little joy down that flank from start to finish.
Diego Carlos, 7 – A decent effort from the Brazilian centre-half as he kept things tight at the back, but there were a couple of wayward passes that caused us some problems.
Pau Torres, 7 – An efficient and accurate display from a passing perspective as he’s so key to helping us play out from defence, while he defended diligently despite not coming under too much pressure.
Ian Maatsen, 7 – Great energy and urgency in possession when he pushes up the left flank, and produced a couple of dangerous crosses but couldn’t find a decisive end product. A positive effort on his return to the Villa XI.
Boubacar Kamara, 8 – Oozes class in possession as he can shake pressure with style, while he was so important from a defensive perspective too. Had one stand-out moment in the second half, as he tracked back, stayed patient, and produced an excellent block on Cameron Archer in a vulnerable period in the game for us.
Youri Tielemans, 6.5 – Surprise inclusion in the Villa line-up as this felt like a perfect game to rest him and give Ross Barkley a starting role. Played some loose passes at times and although he did make us tick in periods too, feels like a missed opportunity to rest him.
Leon Bailey, 6 – Real blow to see him go off with a hamstring injury. Although he’s still searching for his best form, he does look to be improving with some sharpness and confidence in his play.
John McGinn, 7.5 – All-action display from the Villa skipper. Looked sharp in possession and found some good positions in the attacking third to influence our play. Hopefully on his way to top form again.
Morgan Rogers, 6.5 – Similarly to Tielemans, this may well have been the game to rest Rogers, as although he had his spells where he broke forward with power and pace, he couldn’t find a decisive touch to add the final piece.
Jhon Duran, 7.5 – Did brilliantly for his goal, hustling initially to win the ball back and break free on goal. Produced a tidy finish, and that proved to be the decisive moment in the contest.
Substitutes:
Ollie Watkins, 5 – Did well to carve out goalscoring opportunities, but was far too wasteful with some really good chances to kill the game off.
Ross Barkley, 6 – Threatened to add to our lead as he had a positive impact in the latter stages.
Jaden Philogene, 5.5 – Did well to keep possession and help us see out the win, but still looking for more from him in an attacking sense.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Defended well and swung in some threatening crosses to give us fresh impetus down the left side.
