Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has been hailed for his incredible defensive form after shutting down Bournemouth winger
Antoine Semenyo on Sunday.
Villa cruised to a fourth straight home Premier League victory, brushing Bournemouth aside 4-0 at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s side had only scored nine goals in the league coming into the match but put their goalscoring woes to bed to dispatch Andoni Iraola’s below-par Cherries with ease.
Emiliano Buendia’s sublime free-kick put them on track for a fifth win from six before Amadou Onana’s cracker from range doubled their lead. Villa had to withstand a spell of Bournemouth pressure but Emiliano Martinez produced a string of fine saves to keep their lead intact, including a one-handed stop to deny Semenyo from the penalty spot after Morgan Rogers handled the ball.
Villa then made the match safe as substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen struck to wrap up victory and deliver a first four-goal haul of the campaign. During the game, though he didn't get onto the scoresheet, one Villa player had a stellar performance.
Cash shone in dominant win over Bournemouth
Aston Villa's Matty Cash celebrates after the match
Writing on X, Jacob Tanswell of The Athletic was full of praise for Cash, touching on his contributions over the 2025/26 season which rank him amongst the best defenders in the English top flight.
"Don't want to tempt fate, but Matty Cash's defending this season has been among the best in the league. More commanding, timing his tackles and really aggressive on the winger, regardless of who it is. Quite telling that Iraola wanted Semenyo against Digne initially."
Cash, along with his Villa teammates, endured a slow start to the current campaign, far from a norm under Emery's tenure at Villa Park. Picking up their first win of the season only in late September against Bologna, Villa have since lost just two of their last 10 matches, a run to which Cash has been a major contributor.
Matty Cash 2025/26 Season Stats So Far
Interceptions per Game
Tackles per Game
Clearances per Game
Blocked Shots per Game
Errors Leading to Goals
(All stats are from SofaScore)
In what has been a thunderous start to the season for Bournemouth, Semenyo has shone as one of the most exciting attacking talents in the Premier League. As Tanswell noted, Cherries head coach Andoni Iraola wanted the Ghanian international to be charging at Lucas Digne rather than Cash, given his form.
Semenyo was limited to a quiet game in a thrashing win, with Cash maintaining the exceptional standards he has had across the campaign as Villa look to, once again, qualify for European football under Emery.
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