Aston Villa player ratings v Bournemouth: Matty Cash in 3/10, MOTM Leon Bailey in 9/10
Leon Bailey was the Man of the Match as Aston Villa completed a fine comeback to defeat Bournemouth 3-1 at Villa Park on Sunday (21 April).
Dominic Solanke opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Matty Cash fouled Milos Kerkez in the box before Morgan Rogers scored with Villa’s first shot on target with minutes of the first half remaining.
Unai Emery’s side were much quicker out of the blocks after the break, with Moussa Diaby scoring after 57 minutes, rectifying a dreary opening period by his standards.
Leon Bailey put the cherry on the cake, poking home on the goal line to make it 3-1, having already assisted Rogers’ equaliser earlier in the match.
Villa News rates the performance of each player out of 10 using stats supplied by FotMob.
Matty Cash disappoints for Aston Villa after Europa Conference League heroics
Emiliano Martinez – 7
Was unable to keep Dominic Solanke out from the penalty spot but continued his Europa Conference League heroics when keeping Dango Outtara out, denying a goal-bound shot with 0.11xG.
Matty Cash (Off for Kaine Kesler-Hayden 90+6′) – 3
Gave away the penalty for Bournemouth’s goal, taking out Kerkez with a needless slide tackle. Attempted to make amends but finished the match winning 25 per cent of ground duels and registered a 0 per cent shooting accuracy.
Pau Torres – 5
Many were surprised to not see Diego Carlos in the starting lineup, and Torres’ display against the Cherries will only enforce that confusion, having won 25 per cent of his ground duels and 0 per cent of his aerial duels.
Ezri Konsa – 7
Exemplary in defence. Completed 92 per cent of his passes, as well as winning 100 per cent of his ground duels (6/6) and winning 67 per cent of his tackles. Little he could do for Bournemouth’s penalty.
Lucas Digne – 5
Was a decent threat going forward but passes in behind to Ouattara caught him out on multiple occasions. Made four recoveries but finished the match winning just 40 per cent of his ground duels.
John McGinn – 5
With Douglas Luiz suspended, McGinn was unable to show his true colours in midfield, winning just 62 per cent of his ground duels and not registering a single shot on target.
Leon Bailey blows Bournemouth out the water at Villa Park
Youri Tielemans – 8
Completely stepped up in Luiz’s absence. Controlled the midfield well with his 92 per cent pass completion. Was a nightmare for the Cherries’ midfield, winning 83 per cent of his ground duels.
Morgan Rogers – 8
Latched onto Bailey’s incredible pass to provide the Villans with hope before half-time. Has improved massively since signing from Middlesbrough but will need to better his strength after winning just 56 per cent of his ground duels.
Leon Bailey (Off for Diego Carlos 87′) – 9
The Jamaican forward inspired Villa to victory, with a goal and an assist against the Cherries. Created six chances, one of which was a big chance, as well as making eight passes into the final third and seven recoveries. Also, was 100 per cent accurate with his long balls.
Moussa Diaby (Off for Jhon Duran 90+3′) – 7
Following a desperately subpar first-half performance, Diaby gave Villa the lead 12 minutes after the break, making up for his earlier contributions. Bettered his shooting accuracy to 50 per cent and won 75 per cent of his ground duels.
Ollie Watkins – 7
Grabbed two assists as Villa completed the comeback at Villa Park. Lack of goals in recent weeks will still worry Emery but was far more involved than he was against Lille in midweek.
Substitutes
Diego Carlos (On for Bailey 87′) – N/A
Jhon Duran (On for Diaby 90+3) – N/A
Kaine Kesler-Hayden (On for Cash 90+6′) – N/A
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has raged at the “unfair” criticism he’s seen aimed at a Villa star.
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