John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after the defeat at Marseille in pre-season
Jonathan Rowe of Olympique de Marseille and John McGinn of Aston Villa
Jonathan Rowe of Olympique de Marseille and John McGinn of Aston Villa
Aston Villa’s penultimate pre-season friendly of the summer against Marseille ended in a 3-1 defeat at the Stade Vélodrome.
The hosts took the lead in the fifth minute when Mason Greenwood capitalised on a mistake by Tyrone Mings, who failed to deal with a ball over the top. Greenwood rounded Marco Bizot before finishing into an empty net.
Villa responded just three minutes later through John McGinn. Amadou Onana advanced possession to Jacob Ramsey, who turned and threaded a pass through to McGinn. The captain raced in on goal and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli.
Unai Emery made no changes at the break, with another set of first-team stars expected to feature against Villarreal in southern Spain on Sunday.
Bizot started in goal against Marseille, behind a defence of Matty Cash, Lamare Bogarde, Mings and Lucas Digne.
Onana and George Hemmings operated in the double pivot, while Samuel Iling-Junior, McGinn and Ramsey supported striker Donyell Malen.
Emery made a couple of changes just before the 70th minute as he introduced Emi Buendia and new signing Evann Guessand.
The latter's first contribution was to put in a sliding tackle which earned him a yellow card. He was the fourth Villa man to go in the book after Cash, McGinn and Malen at the stage of the game.
With 15 minutes to play, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to put Marseille in front, finishing past Bizot at the far post.
The former Arsenal striker then extended Marseille's lead, tapping in Greenwood's cross from the right.
It was a feisty friendly, with a number of Villa and Marseille players booked, particularly at the end of the second half.
Mason Greenwood came off without a shirt after his was ripped having grappled with Tyrone Mings, while Neal Maupay was booked just minutes after coming on after an unnecessary tackle on Boubacar Kamara.
CJ Egan-Riley also put in a firm tackle on Alex Moreno in the second half, which earned him a booking.
Player ratings
Marco Bizot Bizot is more than an adequate back-up goalkeeper - he will be trusted to deputise for Emi Martinez when required. Not a whole lot he could do to prevent the goals he conceded. 6
Matty Cash Adventurous out on the right, he was encouraged to get forward to support the attack and provide natural width. Defensively, Cash dealt well with long diagonal balls and competed strongly in duels. He was on a tightrope after being booked in the first half, however. 6
Lamare Bogarde Bogarde has proven his worth in the squad during pre-season - now he'll have to step it up in competitive games next season, as there’s no doubt he can be a valuable asset. 6
Tyrone Mings Mings made a mistake on the edge of the box, failing to deal with a ball over the top and allowing Greenwood to get in behind and score. He recovered well from that error, and in the 28th minute, he made an important block to prevent Amine Gouiri from finishing a cross inside the box. Defended well one-on-one against Aubameyang as the former Arsenal man led a counter-attack in the 74th minute. 6
Lucas Digne Digne was steady at left-back for the most part and didn’t allow Greenwood much joy in the wide areas until he tired at the end of the game. Digne didn’t have too many opportunities to push forward and occupy advanced areas on the left flank. 6
Amadou Onana Made a strong block early on before powering forward and winning a foul. He progressed the ball to Ramsey, who then turned and played McGinn in on goal to score. Pinched the ball in the 29th minute, allowing Malen to stretch his legs on the counter-attack. 7*
George Hemmings Always comfortable receiving the ball and never hides from responsibility in possession. Worked hard off the ball too, tracking runners beyond the full-backs. Another impressive display from the 18-year-old. 7
Samuel Iling-Junior Operated from the right, but also spent time inside in the number 10 role. Worked very hard off the ball, chasing and pressing opponents across the pitch. Showed quick feet to escape pressure and win fouls. 6
John McGinn Showed good movement off the ball, playing in the number 10 role in support of Malen. That allowed him to get behind the Marseille defence before chipping the ball over Rulli to equalise shortly after Greenwood’s opener. FIt and ready for the new season. 7
Jacob Ramsey Ramsey threaded the ball through to McGinn to equalise and was a constant threat on the left side. He laid the ball on a plate for McGinn again before the half-hour mark, but the Scot couldn’t hit the target. 7
Donyell Malen
Marseille struggled to deal with Malen’s movement at times. Although isolated on occasions, he made things happen when he had the chance to beat his man and get Villa up the pitch. Didn't get that chance he would've wanted to get a goal. 6
SUBS
Emi Buendia (for Ramsey, 69'): Villa were second best after the break, so Buendia struggled to get on the ball. 6
Evann Guessand (for Malen, 69'): The new man went up top for the final 20 minutes of the game. His first action was to put in a slide tackle, which earned him a yellow card. 6
Alex Moreno (for Digne, 81'): N/A
Youri Tielemans (for Hemmings, 81'): N/A
Ezri Konsa (for Cash, 81'): N/A
Bradley Burrowes (for Iling-Junior, 81'): N/A
Boubacar Kamara (for Hemmings, 81'): N/A
Subs not used: Martinez, Proctor, Watkins, Pau, Maatsen, Bailey, Dobbin, Rowe, Patterson, Jimoh-Aloba, Mosquera.
GOALS
Marseille: Greenwood (5'), Aubameyang (75', 81')
Aston Villa: McGinn (8')