Demonstrations outside Villa Park before Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv.mp4
Aston Villa 2-0 result and player ratings as Ian Maatsen and Donyell Malen score in UEFA Europa League triumph at Villa Park.
Ian Maatsen’s first goal of the season and Donyell Malen’s second-half penalty nudged Aston Villa past Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0, in a UEFA Europa League clash obscured by pre-match protests outside Villa Park.
Maatsen broke the deadlock just before half time after an uneventful first 45 minutes, squeezing the ball into the far top corner from a mightily tight angle. Jadon Sancho beat his man and laid off Morgan Rogers, who did brilliantly to dink the ball cutely through a crowd of bodies to find Maatsen, who fired in off the crossbar to net his first-ever Europa League goal.
Up until that point, the game had lacked vigour and purpose as Villa were cumbersome both in and out of possession. Evann Guessand and Sancho were on their heels on the flanks, while Malen, leading the line instead of Ollie Watkins, had to drop deep to get involved. If anything, Maccabi looked the more threatening side in the opening half an hour before Villa had a flurry of chances for Rogers and Malen just before Maatsen’s goal.
Malen doubled Villa’s lead in the 59th minute, converting clinically from the spot into the bottom left corner. Ezri Konsa was the one to win the penalty, though there was very little in the foul as Villa’s number four appeared to trip himself after the slightest nudge from Maccabi’s Elad Madmon. Villa didn’t care, though, as Malen put his side in the driving seat.
Raz Shlomo bravely cleared off the line to deny Villa a third late on, nearly colliding with the post as he slid in to intervene after John McGinn’s low cross ricocheted towards goal. There were further chances for Maatsen and Malen, too, the latter seeing an effort saved after Youri Tielemans played an outrageous cross-field through pass just minutes after coming off the bench to make his long-awaited return from injury.
Emery’s men didn’t muster up much more before the end and there was a collective grown from the Villa Park faithful when the fourth official indicated six added minutes. That said it all, really, as a largely dull encounter came to a close. Nonetheless, it’s an important three points earned by Villa to shift up to sixth in the League Phase.
Goalkeeper and defence ratings
Emiliano Martinez - The World Cup winner made two saves from Peretz and one from Madmon to preserve the clean sheet. Martinez had one flair moment - popular with the North Stand - as he dragged the ball back to beat two pressing Maccabi attackers for skill. He did get away with one error, though, as he passed straight to Sagiv Jehezkel in a dangerous area. 7
Victor Lindelof - In for a rare start, Lindelof played the first hour at right-back before shifting to left centre-half to see out the game. The Swede was caught out of position on several occasions and was given the run-around by Varela. He did make a host of important recoveries as Maccabi pushed for a goal back, though. 5
Ezri Konsa - Formidable yet again, Konsa did so well to deal with the physicality of Davida and Peretz throughout. The England international also won the penalty Malen converted, albeit slightly fortuitously. 8*
Pau Torres (off 64’) - It wasn’t exactly a dazzling night for Pau, who did his job at left centre-back but didn’t succeed with many of his forward pass attempts. The Spaniard was taken off with half an hour to go, probably with Bournemouth in mind. 6
Ian Maatsen - Villa’s opening goalscorer, Maatsen will be delighted with his terrific finish from an acute angle. The left-back had a forgettable first half up until that point - much like many of his teammates - but he deserves plenty of credit for his goal. Maatsen continued to be a threat from that point on, too, providing great width. 8
Midfield and attack ratings
Lamare Bogarde - The Dutchman had a shaky first half but sured up in the second to make several important interventions, including one particularly impressive sliding tackle on Varela. Bogarde looked better at right-back than he did in defensive midfield. 7
Amadou Onana (off 75’) - Dominant physically, Onana did a good job of battling in the centre of the park. There were a few instances early on when Villa’s midfield were overrun by Maccabi’s, but the visitors were soon subsided by the hosts. Onana played a key role in that, even if it was the dirty work for the most part. 7
Morgan Rogers (off 64’) - The attacking midfielder was direct and physical to craft space for a few shooting opportunities late on in the first half, when Villa finally showed some promise. Rogers then assisted Maatsen’s goal with a tidy through pass. 7
Evann Guessand (off 74’) - The forward was on his heels for much of the first half and struggled to make an impact, even against players of a lower standard. Guessand won a few fouls and did his defensive duties, but it was otherwise another lacklustre display. 5
Jadon Sancho (off 75’) - The Manchester United loanee really struggled in the first half an hour but was involved in Maatsen’s goal as he linked up with Rogers. Emery will want to see more from Sancho. 6
Donyell Malen - Clinical from the spot, Malen netted his third goal of the campaign – and his first since the brace against Burnley on October 5. The striker made some excellent runs into the channels and had two shots saved in doing so. Should he have scored those? Probably. But the misses weren’t howlers. 8
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