Aston Villa bounced back with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday, making it eight consecutive wins at home in the Premier League.
After our heavy defeat at Newcastle Utd on the opening weekend, Unai Emery would have been looking for an immediate reaction from his players to get back on track.
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We wasted little time in providing one with goals from John McGinn, Douglas Luiz [penalty], Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran securing all three points, and along with the clean sheet and goal difference boost, it was a perfect return to Villa Park as we secured an important confidence and morale boost.
There was one moment that soured the win though with Philippe Coutinho coming off with what looked like a serious injury based on his reaction, and so following the setbacks suffered by Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings over the past fortnight, it’s hoped that the Brazilian gets better news when he goes for scans after the game.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Everton:
Emiliano Martinez, 8 – Although we dominated the game for the most part, he was still called into action on occasion and produced superb saves to keep Everton at bay and protect our clean sheet. Stepped up and showed his quality when needed.
Matty Cash, 7.5 – A much-improved performance after his struggles last week, as he did well shifting across to form our back-three in possession and was accurate with his distribution.
Ezri Konsa, 8 – Brilliant from the Villa centre-half as the responsibility on his shoulders increases in Mings’ absence. Marshalled the backline well, alert to danger and looked good as he builds a partnership with Torres.
Pau Torres, 7.5 – Caught out by Danjuma as Martinez got called into action in a key moment in the game, but that aside, an assured and classy display from the Spaniard. In control on the ball, and his positioning and defensive awareness made it a positive full debut.
Lucas Digne, 8.5 – Impressive from the Frenchman as he put in a solid defensive shift, but pushed forward and looked a threat down our left side with his crossing into the box. Will hopefully build on this performance and find consistency with Alex Moreno not far off from returning.
Leon Bailey, 8.5 – Needed a big reaction from him after another poor effort last week. Produced it with a decisive impact, providing the assist for our opener, a key header in the build-up to winning our penalty and then getting on the scoresheet himself. Similar to Digne, needs to build on this now and be more consistent.
Boubacar Kamara, 8 – Important influence in midfield with his ability to break up play and keep us ticking over. His positioning and awareness is spot on to allow him to win possession back and get us moving in attack.
Douglas Luiz, 8 – Brilliant penalty as he showed great composure after a long delay. Combined with Kamara, the pair were excellent in controlling things for us in midfield, and he also did well dealing with another early caution which could have impacted his commitment on the defensive side of things.
John McGinn, 8.5 – Superb from the Villa skipper. Was too quiet last week and although he remained in the same position and role, he asserted himself much better on the game. Grabbed his goal, was imposing and strong on the ball and tireless out of possession, and when he plays well it has a huge impact on the rest of the team’s performance. POTM.
Moussa Diaby, 8 – Looked a real threat throughout with his movement and speed on the ball. Carved open a few opportunities for his teammates, and had an excellent volleyed attempt kept out which would have been some goal. Smart decision to rest him in the latter stages.
Ollie Watkins, 7.5 – Important shift for the team up top with his movement, running and defensive work. Looked sharp at times with his touch in linking play up, but was sloppy too and will be disappointed he wasn’t more clinical in certain situations.
Substitutes:
Youri Tielemans, 6.5 – Added composure and calmness to our play in latter stages as we saw the game out by keeping possession well.
Philippe Coutinho, 6 – Looked sharp after coming off the bench, but appeared to pick up a bad injury which we now face a nervous wait over to determine how serious it is.
Diego Carlos, 7 – Strong in his defensive work as he showed good physicality and presence in another important run out for him as we’ll hopefully see him ready to start games again soon.
Jhon Duran, 7.5 – What an impact. Just a minute after coming on, he bagged his first Villa goal to complete the win and that will hopefully be a huge boost for his confidence moving forward.
Cameron Archer, N/A