Aston Villa were victorious in their penultimate pre-season game of the summer against Athletic Bilbao.
Unai Emery watched on as his side played out a 3-2 win against LaLiga side Athletic Bilbao at the Bescot Stadium.
The Villans have just one pre-season game remaining before the 2024/25 campaign kicks off, with there being plenty of positives to take from Wednesday night’s duel with Athletic.
Jacob Ramsey, Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer secured the win for Villa, who were tested throughout by the Spanish side, here are our player ratings.
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Aston Villa player ratings against Athletic Bilbao
Joe Gauci 6/10 – Made a strong save to deny the opposition in the first half, was commanding in his box and showed encouraging distribution.
Lucas Digne 7/10 – Looked lively going forward against Athletic and was always looking to make something happen on the ball.
Pau Torres 7/10 – Truly instrumental in central defence to prompt those ahead of him to create danger, did what he does best in the build-up to Ramsey’s goal.
Lamare Bogarde 8/10 – The 20-year-old looked incredibly comfortable in central defence and showed why Emery should keep him around this season. Not only defended attentively but played several line-splitting balls forward.
Matty Cash 5/10 – Looked defensively shaky, unable to limit Athletic’s threat which led to conceding the corner for Yeray Alvarez’s goal.
Amadou Onana 6/10 – Showed both ultimate composure and some sloppy play at times, was Villa’s shield in midfield but seemed to overthink some passages of play.
Youri Tielemans 7/10 – Emery will be relieved to have seen how well Tielemans combined with Onana, who look to be an encouraging combination ahead of the season. Provided a sublime assist for Ramsey’s opener.
John McGinn 6/10 – A tireless display from the skipper who was everywhere as always, a standard that is simply a McGinn trademark, will have wished he scored.
Jacob Ramsey 8/10 – Scored a well-taken goal in the first half and importantly, showed he can play with Rogers on the pitch too. Was brilliant to see the Englishman back and playing with confidence and energy.
Leon Bailey 6/10 – Created several goalscoring chances from the right side which were not converted, and posed a real threat as expected of the Jamaican.
Morgan Rogers 9/10 – Was unfortunate to leave the game without his name on the scoresheet after scoring an audacious chip in the first half, which was ruled offside. The Englishman continued his searing form with a delightful assist to set up Philogene and was trouble for the opposition.
- READ MORE: Who is Morgan Rogers? Aston Villa’s outstanding winger who is terrifying Premier League defenders
Subs
Jaden Philogene 7/10 – Very well-taken goal, innate composure to drift in from the left and finish neatly.
Kosta Nedeljkovic 7/10 – Darted forward on the right and was a nuisance for Athletic’s defenders, a strong physical presence and one to watch this season.
Oliwier Zych 5/10 – Will be unhappy to have conceded to Gorka Guruzeta in the second half, should have done better with what was a comfortable save to make.
Ross Barkley 5/10 – Hasn’t quite shown the level of control in midfield that he displayed at Luton last season, looked slightly off the pace in Emery’s midfield which will need to improve.
Sil Swinkels 6/10 – A difficult presence in the box to deceive, remained alert and showed great composure to keep Bilbao’s threat at bay.
Emi Buendia N/A – Didn’t have a lot of influence on the game, tried to play several through balls which did not come off.
Cameron Archer 7/10 – Had a late goal ruled off for offside but was able to get his name on the scoresheet minutes later with a similarly crafted chance, showed good energy and innate finishing.
Leander Dendoncker N/A – Didn’t make an impact, and will surely not be in Emery’s plans this season.
Samuel Iling-Junior N/A – Looked more comfortable on the right side than he did on the left earlier in pre-season however, was unable to influence the game after coming on.
Ian Maatsen 5/10 – Digne gave Maatsen a lesson in playing left-back against Athletic, the Dutchman looked erratic at times and lacked organisation and composure.
