Pranav Shahaney

Fri 22 December 2023 21:59, UK

Sheffield United secured an unlikely 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park in the Premier League on Friday, 22 December.

Leon Bailey thought that he had found the back of the net in the second half after Ollie Watkins’ pass found him, but VAR disallowed the goal.

Cameron Archer then scored a goal late on to nearly win the game for the Blades but Nicolo Zaniolo scored an equaliser to ensure the two sides shared the points.

Here are our player ratings for the game

Emi Martinez – 6

The Aston Villa number one was tidy with his passes all game and even made two saves, according to Sofascore. There wasn’t much he could’ve done to prevent Archer from finding the back of the net.

Matty Cash – 6

Offered a decent threat going forward and his crosses also troubled the Blades defenders. He boasted a pass accuracy of over 80 per cent and won more duels than he lost – the same cannot be said about most of his teammates on the day. He did, however, lose possession more than 20 times and that could’ve proven to be costly for him against a better side.

Ezri Konsa – 7

Was pinpoint accurate with his passing, achieving an accuracy north of 90 per cent. He won 100 per cent of his ground duels, aerial duels and achieved a perfect accuracy with his long passes too. He’s taken his game leaps and bounds this term and it was another top display, deserving of a clean sheet.

Clement Lenglet – 6

Completed over 100 passes – a game high – and it was a solid display on the ball for the Frenchman. However, he got bullied in the air and that’s something Chris Wilder would have told his attackers to do. Lenglet lost 75 per cent of his aerial duels and it can be argued that his positioning was suspect at some instances in the game.

Lucas Digne – 8

Was solid with his passing and always carried a threat going forward. His pass accuracy was 89 per cent and that was an incredible return for the Frenchman. He even won both of his attempted aerial duels and did the dirty work in defence as well. Top display from the left-back.

Leon Bailey – 7

It was a well taken goal as he latched on to a pass played by Ollie Watkins. He showed great composure but unfortunately for Villa, it was ruled out. Had a pass accuracy of 88 per cent but struggled at taking on players – losing all three of his attempted dribbles. He lost eight of his 11 attempted dribbles as well.

John McGinn – 4

Moved to a midfield position after playing out wide in recent games. The change was evident as the Scotland international got bullied – losing eight out of his attempted 11 ground duels. He also lost possession on 22 occasions and will certainly have plenty to reflect on from this display. His long ball accuracy was also just 25 per cent so nothing really seemed to come off for him.

Douglas Luiz – 8

Played a sensational ball into the box for Zanilo’s goal and that dragged Wes Foderingham off his line. It was a deserved assist after a commanding midfield performance. His pass accuracy was also north of 90 per cent and Unai Emery will have been thrilled with the Brazil international’s display.

Jacob Ramsey – 5

Had a tough evening out there and was made to work for everything. Much like his teammates, winning duels did not come at ease and he ended up losing five out of his attempted nine. He failed to complete a cross or key pass all game and it’s not the sort of performance he’d want to repeat.

Moussa Diaby – 3

The French attacker’s form has taken a hit recently and it was another disappointing performance from him. He managed to complete just two of his seven dribbles – achieving a success rate of 28.5 per cent. He did not complete a single cross all game, lost seven out of 11 attempted ground duels and lost two out of three aerial duels as well. His pass accuracy was also 75 per cent which is not a good return at all.

Ollie Watkins – 5

Played a great pass for the goal that controversially was disallowed. It beat around five to six players and accurately found Bailey. On another day, he would’ve gotten an assist for that. However, he ended up getting bullied in the air – losing 75 per cent of his duels and he also struggled to get in the right places to find the back of the net for Aston Villa.

Subs

Alex Moreno – 5

Jhon Duran – 3

Nicolo Zaniolo – 6

In other Aston Villa news, Ian Wright has waxed lyrical over a first-team player and has dubbed him “fantastic” after what he did recently.