Aston Villa were left disappointed once again on Monday night after suffering a 1-0 defeat in our FA Cup third-round clash with Man Utd.
Villa were on top for long periods throughout the game, but particularly in the second half as we took control and continued to create chances with VAR perhaps controversially denying us an equaliser after a lengthy check.
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Frustratingly, we were unable to convert those into goals, and ultimately we were made to rue that lack of a clinical and ruthless edge to our play with Scott McTominay’s early header the difference between the two sides.
Villa now host Man Utd on Saturday evening in the Premier League, and so it’s hoped that we learn lessons from this encounter, and importantly start that game as we did the second half at Old Trafford on Monday.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Man Utd
Emiliano Martinez, 7 – Didn’t have a great deal to do in truth and couldn’t have done much to deny the goal with his defenders letting him down. A sign of a top-class goalkeeper that he was always alert when called into action though.
Matty Cash, 7 – Tireless effort down the right flank as always. Defended well as Utd didn’t have much success down that side of the pitch and pushed forward whenever possible. That said, his distribution into the box must improve as he needs to start racking up more assists if he wants to keep his place in the side.
Ezri Konsa, 7.5 – Will be disappointed that neither he nor Mings picked up McTominay for the goal, as he drifted in between the two Villa centre-halves. Was solid after that though as he didn’t put a foot wrong and was a rock at the back for us.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Similarly to Konsa, won’t be happy that they didn’t pick the goalscorer up and in turn conceded a really poor early goal. Concentration levels were excellent after that as our backline stood tall throughout the encounter.
Matt Targett, 6 – Amid ongoing speculation that we’re weighing up options in the transfer market at left-back, the pressure was on in this game as he needed to produce a performance that showed he’s not going to give up his position without a fight. Unfortunately for Targett, we didn’t really see that as it was another average and generally disappointing effort.
John McGinn, 7 – Battled hard throughout and covered so much ground as always in an attempt to give us some control over the midfield battle. A bullish performance, but not quite enough from our midfield as a collective to help us get the right result.
Douglas Luiz, 6 – Struggled in the early part of the game as we started poorly and gave Utd far too much time on the ball and space in front of our backline. That led to countless efforts from distance and a general vulnerability about our defending. However, we gained control over the game as it went on and Luiz is much more effective when we’re enjoying plenty of possession.
Jacob Ramsey, 6.5 – A disappointing night for him as after picking up a yellow card fairly early on, it held him back a little as he had to be disciplined. Should have done better in a couple of dangerous openings for us but couldn’t get the finish right to either his final ball or shot at goal.
Emiliano Buendia, 7 – Produced some wonderful bits of skilful play to light up our attack, and his give and gos along with his movement made him a headache for Utd at times. Needs to be more consistent in terms of being a threat for a whole game, but there were more signs that Buendia is starting to show his class.
Danny Ings, 6 – Thought he’d scored our all-important equaliser, but was denied after a lengthy VAR check. Didn’t do a great deal else other than that as although Villa impressed as an attacking unit at times with our link-up play, Ings didn’t really have a decisive impact.
Ollie Watkins, 7 – A great shift as his closing down and tracking back was really important for us to set the tone. Was much more involved in our build-up play in comparison to Ings as his movement and touch was better, but will be frustrated and disappointed that he couldn’t find the back of the net after going close a couple of times, particularly with the effort that crashed off the crossbar.
Substitutions:
Anwar El Ghazi, N/A
Jaden Philogene-Bidace, N/A
