Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham Utd on Sunday in another disappointing setback as we dropped points.
Jacob Ramsey gave us an early lead as we made an excellent start to the encounter, but having failed to kill the game off from that point onwards, we left the door open for the visitors to launch a fightback.
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Emerson headed home their equaliser in the second half as Villa dropped off and produced a woeful display after the break, and the outcome was more dropped points in a game where we could, and perhaps should, have taken more.
All eyes will now be on our Champions League clash with Celtic in midweek, but Unai Emery has critical issues to address as we continue to throw away leads and defend poorly.
Aston Villa player ratings vs West Ham:
Emiliano Martinez, 6 – Didn’t have a great deal to do but was alert to danger when needed and couldn’t do much to prevent the goal having been left exposed by his defence. Took risks with his distribution, but didn’t cost us.
Matty Cash, 6 – Decent shift in both phases without doing anything of note. Malen needs to take responsibility for the goal, but communication was poor as Emerson ghosted in at the far post to head home their equaliser on our right side.
Ezri Konsa, 7.5 – Crucial presence in the backline, especially after losing Tyrone Mings to injury. Made a number of vital interventions, will need to step up now as our only senior centre-half option currently.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Solid effort up until he was forced off with his injury as he was defensively solid and composed on the ball. While initial fears were allayed to an extent, it’s hoped that his knee injury isn’t serious and that he won’t miss too much time.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Difficult for him having been asked to shift across to centre-half, but was sloppy in possession as he risked gifting a goal away and wasn’t particularly effective with the ball thereafter while struggling without it.
Boubacar Kamara, 7.5 – Such an important presence in our midfield again. Continues to disrupt the opposition’s play and regain possession with his positional awareness and reading of the game. Battled hard and showed quality with the ball.
Youri Tielemans, 6.5 – So effective at times in playing key passes through the lines to get us moving up the pitch with speed. Much like the entire team though, became less effective and influential in the second half and that hurt us.
Leon Bailey, 5.5 – Showed glimpses of good intent and direct running to provide a threat, but it wasn’t decisive or consistent enough. The expectation is that he’s now struggling to fend off competition and keep his place in the starting XI.
Morgan Rogers, 6.5 – Continues to find pockets of space and be an important link in our build-up play, and offers a threat with his driving runs. Little too sloppy in possession and lacking a decisive end product though.
Jacob Ramsey, 7.5 – Brilliant goal, as his touch and finish were excellent. Adds a pivotal balance to the team with his play in both phases on the left side, as his work ethic is critical and his running with and without the ball opens things up for us in the attacking third.
Ollie Watkins, 7 – Great play to link up with Ramsey for the goal as he continues to show his creative side to register another assist, but he’s still lacking that killer instinct in front of goal as he had a big chance in the first half with his header going the wrong side of the post.
Substitutes:
Ian Maatsen, 5 – His performance became progressively more chaotic and sloppy. Couldn’t keep the ball, didn’t really threaten going forward and looked vulnerable defensively.
Jhon Duran, 5.5 – Didn’t have enough service, but couldn’t have much of an impact on the game.
Donyell Malen, 5.5 – Looked bright at times going forward, but has to improve defensively as he left Cash exposed too often and didn’t track Emerson’s run for the goal.
John McGinn, N/A
Emiliano Buendia, N/A
