Aston Villa produced another poor performance this weekend and it resulted in a bitterly disappointing 1-0 defeat to Brentford.
After battling to secure a point against Newcastle United last time out with 10 men, it had been hoped that we would be able to kick-start our season against a Brentford side reeling from a defeat on the opening weekend.
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However, that failed to materialise as Dango Ouattara’s opener after 12 minutes proved to be the winning goal, as Villa had no answer with a lack of creativity, quality and cutting edge in the final third once again causing problems.
Unai Emery saw his side dominate possession in our push for at least an equaliser, but it wasn’t to be as we now look ahead to Crystal Palace at home next weekend, a game which we are now desperate to win.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Brentford:
Emiliano Martinez, 5 – Unfortunate to an extent given the unlucky bounce that fell to Ouattara to tap home the rebound, but will perhaps feel as though he could have done better to snuff that chance out entirely. Was fortunate with the disallowed goal as it didn’t appear to be a foul from a Brentford player.
Matty Cash, 5 – Didn’t offer enough going forward. Works diligently from a defensive perspective to keep things tight and tucked inside to form a back-three in possession as part of our tactical set-up, but we need more quality, energy and threat down the right flank and he doesn’t offer it consistently enough.
Tyrone Mings, 5 – Looked awkward at times playing on the right-side of the centre-half partnership, and should have done better to deal with the threat in the build-up to the only goal of the game.
Pau Torres, 4.5 – Similar to Mings in terms of the goal as it was a basic long ball forward which should have been dealt with, while he was uncharacteristically sloppy in possession and didn’t provide the composure and accuracy needed to build out from the back.
Lucas Digne, 5 – As was the case with Cash on the opposite side, Digne is defensively sound, but his lack of quality in the attacking phase was an issue as we had no width. Lacks the energy and athleticism to get in behind teams when we’re pushing for a breakthrough.
Boubacar Kamara, N/A – Injured in the early stages as he was shown holding his hamstring after a heavy tackle. It’s hoped that it’s not a serious setback.
Amadou Onana, 5.5 – Gave us physicality and presence in the midfield battle and protected the backline well at times, but in a game where we’re dominating possession, it’s not enough to do the simple things well, he has to grab the game by the neck and give us impetus going forward too.
John McGinn, 5 – Doesn’t offer enough quality in that role on the right wing. Tireless work ethic and shows glimpses of quality in terms of a good delivery or breaking run forward, but we need more pace, energy and dynamism in that position.
Youri Tielemans, 6 – Once again started the game as a No.10 and it just doesn’t get the best out of him. Began to dictate and control tempo and possession for us after dropping deeper, and that has to be where he plays moving forward as we don’t have enough of that tactical and positional intelligence on the pitch.
Morgan Rogers, 4.5 – Another below-par display, and it hurts us more than most other players given how important he is to how we play and the reliance on him to produce quality in the final third. Very small margin for error for our key individuals, and Rogers needs to add that sharpness and cutting edge back to his game.
Ollie Watkins, 5 – Struggled with a lack of service. Tried to drop back and get involved in our build-up and should have done better with one chance in particular in the second half as he couldn’t get his head onto a dangerous cross,but we need him to step up next time out too in our search for a first goal of the season.
Substitutes:
Emiliano Buendia, 5.5 – Didn’t add a decisive touch, but to his credit, he started to find pockets of space to link our play together and create threatening openings. Also wasn’t afraid to try something to find a breakthrough, but was later replaced himself.
Donyell Malen, 5 – His introduction arguably should have come earlier, but he didn’t do enough to help us turn the game around as instead of stretching the pitch and giving us width down the right, he often drifted inside.
Ian Maatsen, 6 – Added energy and a spark down the left flank in the latter stages to give us more attacking quality and a threat.
Evann Guessand, 6 – Deserves praise for the courage he showed to try and find a way through as he weaved past defenders trying to create dangerous chances, but couldn’t quite get the final ball right.
Lamare Bogarde, 5 – Shored things up in midfield, but was too often asked to take the ball and create in deeper areas which isn’t suited to his game.
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