Aston Villa welcomed Southampton to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon as they aimed to build on their midweek win over Brentford.
Unai Emery made four changes to the starting lineup on Wednesday, including a first Premier League start of the season for Jhon Duran.
The game started as expected, with Aston Villa controlling the tempo and rarely letting Southampton make inroads into their half.
It was a far from spectacular opening to the game from either side and the game needed a bit of quality, which was provided by Duran.
He showed brilliant fight and persistence to bulldoze his way through on goal and then excellent precision with his strike past Joe Lumley.
The second half saw Southampton grow into the contest a bit and looked threatening through the exciting Tyler Dibling on the counter.
However, the visitors just couldn’t provide the final touch, while Villa had a few chances to add to Duran’s early strike.
It wasn’t an impressive performance from Villa overall and Emery will have expected more from his side after only just edging past the league’s bottom side.
Here’s how the players rated.
Aston Villa vs Southampton player ratings
Emi Martinez – 6
A very quiet afternoon for Martinez. The Argentine wasn’t tested with any shots against him in the first half and it was a similar story for the second.
Ezri Konsa – 7
Made a fantastic block to deny Cameron Archer’s strike in the first half and a quality defensive header to prevent Adam Armstrong from having an open goal in the second. A top defensive display from Konsa at right-back.
Diego Carlos – 6
Southampton only started testing Villa’s defence in the second half and Carlos was only troubled sometimes on the counter. However, the Brazilian stood firm and produced a decent display.
Pau Torres – 6
Solid as usual from Torres, who was typically excellent with his passing and like Carlos, had a quiet afternoon against poorer opposition.
Ian Maatsen – 6
It was an opportunity for Maatsen to impress as he made a rare Premier League start over Lucas Digne. Dibling often tested him with his incredible pace and skill but didn’t offer much going forward like his French compatriot.
Boubacar Kamara – 7
Made an excellent block to deny Cameron Archer a chance when bearing down on goal. The classy midfielder was a machine with his tackling and accurate with his passing throughout.
Youri Tielemans – 6.5
The Belgian was instrumental in the middle of the park, as usual, constantly looking to move the ball forward and split lines with his passing.
Leon Bailey – 4
The winger made some promising bursts forward but never looked like making much happen when he was required to make a final ball. Was substituted on the hour mark after going down with a knock.
Morgan Rogers – 7
Influential in and around the box, constantly trying to make things happen, but just needs to become more ruthless with his decision-making in the final third.
John McGinn – 6
A rather solid, if unremarkable display from the Villa skipper in the middle of the park. Pressed ferociously as usual and made his presence known by committing multiple fouls, though they weren’t often in dangerous areas of the pitch.
Jhon Duran – 8
Duran was excellent on his first Premier League start of the season, displaying an incredible work ethic while getting his name on the score sheet.
For the opener, he showed brilliant fight and persistence to bulldoze his way through on goal and then precision with his strike past Lumley. An outstanding striker’s performance.
Substitutes
Ollie Watkins – 5
Watkins had several opportunities to make sure of the three points but was complacent with his finishing.
Lucas Digne – 6
Arguably more of a threat than Maatsen down the left and put some decent crosses into the box.
Ross Barkley – 6
A solid if not unspectacular sub appearance from Barkley, who ensured Villa had control of the midfield.
Jaden Philogene – 4
Very disappointing from the bench again. Tried committing defenders with his pace and dribbling but the 22-year-old kept losing the ball.
