John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery's side lose heavily to Crystal Palace
Aston Villa slumped to defeat against Crystal Palace
Aston Villa slumped to defeat against Crystal Palace(Image: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock)
Aston Villa’s 22-match unbeaten home run came to an end this evening with a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Villa Park.
Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring in the 21st minute, converting from the penalty spot after Marco Bizot was adjudged to have tripped Daichi Kamada inside the box. Bizot, starting in place of Emi Martínez, was beaten low to his left by Mateta’s well-taken effort.
Martínez was absent from the matchday squad as his head wasn’t in the right place amid interest from Manchester United ahead of Monday’s 7pm transfer deadline.
Villa struggled to create clear-cut chances throughout the first half but should have gone into the break level. John McGinn lofted a perfectly weighted ball over the Palace defence to find Ollie Watkins, but the striker was denied from close range by Dean Henderson.
Unai Emery’s side remain goalless this season — marking only the second time in his managerial career that one of his teams has failed to score in four consecutive league games. The last such instance came in October and November 2007, when his Almería side endured a similar run in La Liga.
Palace doubled their lead with just over 20 minutes remaining, as Marc Guéhi bent a composed finish past Bizot after McGinn failed to control Ezri Konsa’s attempted clearance.
The result was sealed 10 minutes later, when Ismaïla Sarr — a regular thorn in Villa’s side — popped up at the back post to head home and complete a miserable evening for the hosts.
Player ratings
Marco Bizot Made back-to-back home league starts in place of Martínez, who was left out amid interest from Man United. Bizot gave away a penalty after Kamada broke through one-on-one and later strayed several yards off his line, allowing Marc Guéhi to loft in Palace’s second. A tough evening for the stand-in keeper, but did prevent a fourth late on. 4
Matty Cash Booked early for a crunching challenge on Kamada, which was reviewed by VAR but not upgraded. Failed to prevent Kamada from entering the box to win the penalty. Delivered crosses with mixed quality. 4
Ezri Konsa While Villa’s main issue was a lack of creativity, they were also guilty of poor defending. Konsa’s clearance in the build-up to the second goal didn’t relieve pressure — though McGinn also should’ve done better. 4
Tyrone Mings Occasionally loose in possession even if some passes still found the intended target. Didn’t make any major errors, but couldn't assert control as Palace broke with confidence. 4
Ian Maatsen Given licence to push forward and link with Guessand, occasionally tucking into central areas. Showed glimpses of his attacking ability but lacked his usual decisiveness and confidence throughout. 5
Youri Tielemans Tidy in tight spaces and retained possession under pressure, but struggled to influence the game due to limited movement ahead of him. Tested Henderson with a decent effort from distance. 5
John McGinn Produced Villa’s best moment of the first half with a smart ball over the top to Watkins. Worked in a double pivot role with Tielemans but was involved in what proved to be a costly moment, failing to control Konsa’s clearance before Guéhi scored. 5
Donyell Malen Made his first league start since the win over Nottingham Forest last season. Struggled to impact the game, only briefly offering little threat or drive from wide areas. 4
Morgan Rogers Still searching for form early in the season. Came close just after the hour mark when his deflected shot forced a save from Henderson, but otherwise failed to assert himself. 4
Evann Guessand Offered some early width and allowed space for Maatsen to drift inside and Watkins to exploit central areas. Started brightly but faded as the half wore on and was subbed off at half-time. 4
Ollie Watkins Had a golden opportunity to level the match just before half-time but was denied by a sharp stop from Henderson. Struggled to get involved outside of that one chance. 4
SUBS
Emi Buendia (for Guessand, 46'): Buendia is a willing trier, but he struggles to make a real impact in games. 4
Pau Torres (for McGinn, 74'): N/A
Brad Burrowes (for Cash, 74'): N/A
Lucas Digne (for Maatsen, 84'): N/A
Lamare Bogarde (for Malen, 84'): N/A
Subs not used: Proctor, Rowe, Jimoh-Aloba, Patterson.
GOALS
Aston Villa: N/A
Crystal Palace: Mateta (21'), Guehi (68'), Sarr (78')
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