Aston Villa propelled themselves into the top four with a hard-fought win against Tottenham Hotspur, coming back from behind to win. Here are our player ratings…
For the first time since September, Aston Villa have won a game away from home in the Premier League as they defeated Spurs.
Coming into the game, Unai Emery looked as if he had opted for a back five as he tried to combat Tottenham’s high line and counter chances. With the result going the way of the Villans it was safe to say that worked to an extent.
The game didn’t start how anyone would have wanted it to as Dejan Kulusevski went through and smashed the post. A guilt-edged change and 99 times out of 100 he takes those.
This woke up the Villans as just minutes later Pau Torres sent a curling header narrowly wide. A great chance but ever so close for the Spaniard.
Then came an onslaught of chances for the home side as Heung-Min Son missed a chance. This came before Giovani Lo-Celso opened the scoring with a thunderous effort. A slight nick-off Diego Carlos took it past Emi Martinez and Spurs were ahead.
Then Villa were straight back into it as Ollie Watkins planted a header into the net off a great Lucas Digne header. This was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check as Watkins was said to be offside. Poor positioning from the Englishman.
Kulusevski had a chance go just wide soon after before the home side had a goal ruled out themselves.
The Villans were level just minutes before halftime as Torres met a pinpoint Douglas Luiz cross to power past Guglielmo Vicario. It must be said on the general pattern of play, it was undeserved to go in level at half time.
At half-time Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey came on and completely changed the game in Villa’s favour. The latter had a chance saved and come back off the post just minutes into the second half.
15 minutes after the interval, the turnaround was complete as Watkins finally got his name on the scoresheet. An excellent move capped off by the Englishman’s fluid touch and shot.
The game ebbed and flowed after the goal with both sides having their fair share of chances. Emiliano Martinez was on top form making a double save from, first, Brennan Johnson and then Emile Hojbjerg.
The Villans saw the game out thanks to some excellent work from substitute Jhon Duran and saw them move up to fourth. A shaky performance a time but in the end was professional and got the job done at a tough away ground. Here are our player ratings…
Aston Villa player ratings
Emi Martinez- 8/10
The Argentine was born for these kinds of games. Making clutch saves and catches in big moments to take the sting out of the game. His save from Hojbjerg was simply world-class and is well deserving of at least an 8 in these player ratings.
Ezri Konsa- 7/10
Out of position today but as assured as ever from Konsa. The Englishman is definitely a better centre-half option but deputises very well on the flank.
Diego Carlos- 6/10
An assured performance for the most part from the Brazilian but it must be said he can look reckless at times. He could have had a penalty go against him and maybe got lucky. Didn’t do much wrong on the whole, however.
Pau Torres- 8/10
He scored one and he might have had another earlier on. His calmness and ability on the ball is top tier and he showed that once again. He always shows his passion when he scores and he played a vital part in this win. Great value for an 8/10 in these player ratings.
Lucas Digne- 7/10
Digne was good again. He gets down the left-hand side really well and although he never got an assist for his troubles, he was still good.
Matty Cash- 5/10
The crowd got to Matty Cash today. With prior situations with Matt Doherty and now Rodrigo Bentancur, he received his fair share of the boos. A poor tackle on the midfielder and a half-time substitution, he gets a lower score on these player ratings for that reason.
Boubacar Kamara- 8/10
Silky. The Frenchman is so good on the ball and made it look easy at times. With some top-class dribbling and passing, he was unreal today.
Douglas Luiz- 8/10
A quieter day by Luiz’s standards but he still came up clutch with an unbelievable assist. His ability on the ball is top class and as the second half went on he just got better and better. Well deserving of an 8/10 on the player ratings.
John McGinn- 7/10
Another one with a quiet day but still played his role as the three points were secured. His bullish runs saw many Tottenham players left in the dust as he went forward. Another great performance as always.
Moussa Diaby- 5/10
A bit off for the Frenchman’s standards. He just looks devoid of any real confidence and when a forward goes through on goal and looks for a pass, something is wrong.
Ollie Watkins- 7/10
He got one, maybe could have had two or three on the day. That is Watkins for you though. His performance was great and is much deserving of a great score in our player ratings.
Substitutes
Leon Bailey- 8/10
We don’t usually talk about substitutes but wow Bailey was good. Considering how poor Diaby had been at times, the Jamaican was the opposite. He was quick, and direct and was unlucky to not be on the scoresheet.
Youri Tielemans- 7/10
Jacob Ramsey- 6/10
Jhon Duran- 7/10
