Aston Villa scored an injury-time equaliser against West Brom on Sunday to earn a 2-2 draw, with substitute Keinan Davis rescuing a point for us.
Villa took the lead early on as Anwar El Ghazi scored from the penalty spot after Ross Barkley was brought down in the box, albeit it was arguably a soft decision.
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However, things were levelled up as West Brom were awarded a dubious penalty of their own which Matheus Pereira converted, before the visitors went ahead just after the half-time break with Tyrone Mings diverting an effort into the back of the net.
Villa pushed for an equaliser for the last 30 minutes while the Baggies had their chances too, but it was Davis who came off the bench to grab his first Premier League goal and secure a deserved point for us.
Having had 24 shots on goal and 70% possession over the course of the game, Villa should have come away with a win and their failure will no doubt lead to further heavy criticism from some quarters.
Aston Villa player ratings vs West Brom
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Well beaten on the penalty and couldn’t do much on the second goal. Pulled off a string of top saves in the second half as West Brom looked for a third, keeping us in it and contributing directly to the point earned.
Ahmed Elmohamady, 6 – A decent enough display from the veteran in the circumstances and given his lack of playing time. Defended well and looked a threat as well, seeing a sweetly struck volley well saved. A good shift from the stalwart to silence doubts before the game over his inclusion.
Ezri Konsa, 4 – An uncharacteristic off night from our defensive lynchpin who has been so reliable this season. Gave away the penalty for West Brom’s first, albeit it looked quite soft, and slipped in the build-up to their second while also going close to scoring an own goal. Will look to put this one down to an off day and bounce back next time out.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – A solid performance from the captain as he swept things up well defensively and marshalled the backline. Led well too in our continued push for a point, and was unlucky on the own goal as he tried to put his body on the line to block the shot.
Matt Targett, 5 – Not one of his better performances as Pereira gave him trouble while it was a mixed bag in terms of his distribution into the box from the left flank. Did continue to get forward when possible and offered more in an attacking sense than in recent times.
John McGinn, 5 – Back to his deeper midfield role, the Scottish international was sloppy throughout with misplaced passes and was off the mark with an attempt on goal from distance. Battling, tireless and committed as always, but just lacking the quality needed.
Douglas Luiz, 6 – Always wants the ball and is not afraid to take on responsibility to get us moving into the attacking phase. Similarly to McGinn though, the quality just wasn’t there throughout. Can’t be faulted in terms of getting about the pitch, but Villa’s midfield is struggling to avoid looking vulnerable, although we did dominate possession and with our chances.
Bertrand Traore, 5 – Flat performance again as although he showed flashes of quality, there was no real end product to either his delivery or efforts on goal. Need more from him and that has been the case for some time now.
Ross Barkley, 5 – An improvement on his displays over the past few months as he moved the ball quicker, looked for pockets of space to get possession and was involved in some our impressive build-up play at times. Also won the penalty for our first, but still looks like he’s lacking confidence and isn’t providing enough quality in the final third.
Anwar El Ghazi, 5.5 – Took his penalty really well and was lively early on in linking play up and going for goal again. However, it was a similar case right across our attacking players as there just wasn’t an end product or class to finish West Brom off as the win was there for the taking.
Ollie Watkins 6.5 – As ever, he offered an option in the channels and in behind and showed great strength and movement to win 50/50s to hold up the ball and link play up. Should have done better with a great chance in the second half, but another good performance from our frontman which was just lacking a goal albeit he did grab the assist for the late equaliser.
Substitutes:
Jacob Ramsey, 6 – Did ok off the bench. Slotted in well and kept us moving without doing anything major of note.
Keinan Davis, 8 – A superb impact from the striker as he did well to pounce on Watkins’ header back across goal. Didn’t give up on the play and got his first Premier League goal. Also hit the woodwork in a really lively substitute appearance.
Wesley, N/A – Brilliant to see him back on the pitch with the senior side after his lengthy injury layoff.