Aston Villa secured a superb 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday as we moved up to ninth place in the Premier League table having now gone five games unbeaten.
Goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn either side of half-time sent us on our way to all three points, our fourth win in our last five league outings while that’s four clean sheets in that run too.
READ MORE: What Emery said in analysis of brilliant Villa win vs Chelsea
Given the result against a top side away from home, it took a collective effort to secure the victory and so there were big performance right across the pitch.
However, certain individuals certainly stood out too and they deserve plenty of praise having been decisive in an important win for us, as we continue to show progress in our bid to not only seal a top-half finish this season, but potentially a European qualification spot.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Chelsea:
Emi Martinez, 8 – Produced a number of key saves to earn another important clean sheet on his 100th Premier League appearance for Villa. Distribution was accurate for the most part barring one shaky pass to Kamara, while he commanded his area well throughout too.
Ashley Young, 7 – A positive shift in a difficult assignment as he had his hands full down that side with Chilwell getting into dangerous positions. Stuck to his task admirably as he used his experience and tactical awareness to try and keep things as tight as possible.
Ezri Konsa, 8 – Put in a really impressive performance as he was composed and accurate both on and off the ball. Made well-timed tackles and interventions, and was calm while playing out from the back.
Tyrone Mings, 8 – Led by example with a strong display to clear danger when possible and imposed himself physically and in the air to try and limit Chelsea’s chances. Did well organising the Villa backline throughout.
Alex Moreno, 7 – Wasn’t as decisive in the final third from an attacking perspective as we’ve seen previously, but put in a solid defensive shift and battled hard to shore things up down his flank.
John McGinn, 8.5 – An excellent all-round performance. Put himself about and gave us some physicality and tenacity in midfield, while he produced a real moment of quality with his finish for the second goal. Struck the crossbar in the first half too as he was a real attacking threat, while he showed his versatility to occupy different roles and positions too.
Douglas Luiz, 7.5 – An important presence in midfield again as he kept things tidy in possession and made himself available to help us build out from the back while offering protection for the backline too. It was his long ball forward that forced the defensive error from Chelsea that lead to the opener from Watkins.
Boubacar Kamara, 6 – Picked up an early yellow card and took a knock to his left leg which influenced his performance thereafter. Almost got caught out playing out from the back, and was replaced at half-time. Great to see him back, but perhaps one game too early to bring him straight back into the XI again.
Jacob Ramsey, 7 – Seemed simple but played a perfect layoff into the path of McGinn for his goal in a crucial contribution. Showed good intent and quality at times when driving forward from midfield, but couldn’t quite add that decisive moment when in dangerous positions.
Emiliano Buendia, 6 – A quiet afternoon on the whole as although he showed glimpses of class and linked play up well for us at times in the final third, didn’t have a major impact on the game before he was replaced.
Ollie Watkins, 8.5 – Took his goal brilliantly as he showed good composure and character to lift his finish over Kepa, having already missed a big opportunity not long before that. Showed good strength and touch to hold up play when needed, while his movement and runs down the channels or in behind were constantly causing Chelsea problems.
Substitutes:
Calum Chambers, 7 – Did his job well after coming on as he helped shore things up at the back and see out the win. An important contribution off the bench.
Leon Bailey, N/A
Leander Dendoncker, N/A
Lucas Digne, N/A
