Aston Villa secured a thrilling 3-2 win at RB Leipzig on Wednesday night, in a crucial victory for our hopes of advancing directly to the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Villa twice went ahead through goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran, but poor defending from our perspective led to the hosts drawing level twice.
READ MORE: Five Villa players who must continue to step up as squad depth will be tested
Fortunately, we weren’t to be denied as Ross Barkley’s deflected strike ultimately sealed the three points, and that could prove to be a huge moment in our European campaign.
With Monaco and Celtic to come, Villa hopefully get the results necessary to make it through and skip the playoff round, and while there were certainly plenty of positives to take from our attacking play, our defending was a weakness and vulnerability once again.
Aston Villa player ratings vs RB Leipzig:
Emiliano Martinez, 6 – Made some key saves throughout the game, but he’ll be disappointed with both of the goals conceded as his hesitation and indecision was ultimately costly. Has been so effective with his sweeping up behind the defence previously, needs to get back to that.
Matty Cash, 7.5 – Enjoyed the freedom he was given to get forward and cause problems in the attacking phase, and used the space he had well. Provided the cross in the lead up to our first goal, and produced a consistent threat down the right side.
Diego Carlos, 6 – Strong in his duels and defended well for the most part, but poor miscommunication for the first Leipzig goal and looked prone to making another error at times too.
Ezri Konsa, 6.5 – Tidy in possession, disciplined defensively in our changed system, but was caught out on occasion that led to the threat of conceding.
Pau Torres, 6.5 – Similar to the rest of the backline in that there are obvious improvements still to be made as we’re not solid enough, but played well overall and was important in our build-up play.
Lucas Digne, 7 – Solid shift as he defended well throughout to limit Leipzig’s threat down his side, while similarly to Cash, had the responsibility of giving us width and a threat out wide, and played his part effectively.
Boubacar Kamara, 7.5 – Crucial influence once again as his ability to break play up in midfield, win back and retain possession and then set us off in attack, all make him a fundamental cog in Emery’s way of playing.
Youri Tielemans, 7.5 – Helped us control proceedings and dictate tempo as we cut through Leipzig consistently and created openings. Will be disappointed that he didn’t do better with a great chance of his own as he scuffed his effort wide from the edge of the box.
John McGinn, 8 – Important shift from the Villa skipper, as he not only broke the deadlock with a clever run into the box and finish, but was tenacious and tireless in his work on and off the ball thereafter. Was asked to play more centrally, and it seemed to suit him as he was effective throughout.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Continues to play a critical role in how we play and hurt teams in transition, but he’s just lacking the sharpness that he had previously. Can certainly improve and be a more decisive figure in the final third for us.
Ollie Watkins, 7 – Caused problems with his clever movement, provided the assist for our opener. Watkins also converted an effort which was ultimately ruled out for offside, but was guilty of missing some big chances before he was replaced at half-time, with Emery confirming that he picked up a small injury in the opening 45 minutes.
Substitutes:
Jhon Duran, 7.5 – An excellent impact off the bench, as although question marks should be raised over the goalkeeping, his ability to make something happen and produce quality was decisive. Led the line well and linked play up, frustrating at times when choosing the wrong option, but an important contribution nonetheless.
Kosta Nedeljkovic, 6 – Struggled defensively as Leipzig looked dangerous in the latter stages down that side of the pitch, but added energy and freshness to our play.
Emiliano Buendia, N/A
Ross Barkley, N/A – His effort took a big deflection, but provided positive intent in the latter stages to help us find a way to win.
Ian Maatsen, N/A