Aston Villa travelled to Bosnia to face Zrinjski Mostar knowing that a point or more would be enough to secure the top spot. Here are our player ratings…
It has been an ideal start to life back in Europe for Aston Villa with four wins from a possible five to open the group stage.
With Unai Emery at the helm, fans are hopeful of a good spell in the Europa Conference League and they have extended their stay for now.
The game against Zrinjski started well as Nicolo Zaniolo smashed over a volley early into his return to the starting XI.
This was one of very few chances in the first half. Jhon Duran caused the Zrinjski keeper a slight issue at one point, but that was all there was to report. In all honesty, it was a drab first 45 which featured very little quality on a poor standard of pitch.
The second half followed suit and was once again poor to begin with. The game came to life after the first round of substitutions.
Villa captain, John McGinn came on for Jacob Ramsey and made an instant impact. His cross was superb and it picked Zaniolo out perfectly. The Italian touched it down and stuck it in the back of the net for his first Villa goal.
Later in the game, Duran went through on goal after a great run but his effort was well saved in the end. It arguably could have been a penalty but that is irrelevant now.
Zrinjski levelled things through Matija Malekinusic whose deflected effort rocketed into the top corner past Filip Marschall. This is how the result stayed and Villa secured top spot in their group.
With all that being said, here are our Aston Villa player ratings vs Zrinjski…
Aston Villa player ratings vs Zrinjski Mostar
Filip Marschall- 4/10
It is safe to say that the debutant didn’t have much to do in his first senior appearance for the club. Hard to give him a score on the player ratings given that he couldn’t do anything for the goal. He made a slight hash of things as he smashed the ball off Calum Chambers but it was a quiet night bar that.
Matty Cash- 5/10
One of the players that saw the most of the ball throughout the game. He created a few chances and was arguably one of the better players on the pitch. Some sloppy errors left Emery frustrated in the first half but other than that, he was decent.
Ezri Konsa- 5/10
Another one who didn’t have much to do. Konsa was on top of his game when it came to passing but didn’t have to do much at the back. Might have done better from some set pieces but other than that, he had nothing to do.
Pau Torres- 5/10
In a similar vein to Konsa, Pau Torres was good with the ball at his feet and played a few killer passes out from the back. Other than that he had a quiet day, mainly due to the lack of attacking intent from the hosts.
Alex Moreno- 5/10
Like Cash on the on the opposite flank, Moreno got forward where he could. Although he didn’t create much and was hooked before 60 minutes, it was minutes in the tank for the Spaniard. Hard to give him a reflective score in the player ratings…
Nicolo Zaniolo- 7/10
Finally, Zaniolo has gotten on the scoresheet for Aston Villa. With over 15 appearances for the club since his loan move, it has been a long time coming. He was trying to make things happen early on with some long-range efforts that were saved.
Considering he got his goal and took it well, he gets a better score on the player ratings.
Douglas Luiz- 4/10
An uncharacteristically quiet performance from Douglas Luiz who was pretty non-descript throughout the 90 minutes. His passing was generally on point but that is pretty much all there is to say. With him suspended against Brentford, he will have some rest this weekend.
Leander Dendoncker- 5/10
Another player who didn’t have a chance to do much. His passing was astute and kept the play ticking over throughout. Leander Dendoncker also was able to create a chance which is more than can be said of most in these player ratings.
Jacob Ramsey- 5/10
These player ratings were hard to give for a lot of players but the front line was particularly quiet. Jacob Ramsey was able to create a chance like Dendoncker before him but that is about all there is to say…
Moussa Diaby- 5/10
It was another quiet night for Moussa Diaby who fans had high hopes for coming into this one against weaker opposition. He didn’t get on the ball very much but against a static back line which often featured all ten men, it was difficult to find space.
Jhon Duran- 5/10
If someone could pick out Duran, he could have had a few goals on the night. The Colombian made run after run after run and didn’t see the ball. It was a tough night for him but another one who will benefit from the minutes.
Substitutes
John McGinn- 7/10
Lucas Digne- 5/10
Calum Chambers- 3/10
Diego Carlos- 5/10
Tommi O’Reilly- 5/10
