Douglas Luiz stinks in 4/10, 5/10 Ollie Watkins anonymous – Aston Villa player ratings v Chelsea
Aston Villa had their blushes spared as Chelsea were denied a late winner by VAR having fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Villa Park on Saturday (27 April).
John McGinn’s strike found the back of the Chelsea net via Marc Cucurella after just four minutes, with Morgan Rogers doubling the lead not long before half-time.
Noni Madueke got one back for the visitors midway through the second half before Conor Gallagher sent the away end into bedlam by levelling the match with a stunning strike from distance.
And with seconds left on the clock Axel Disasi thought he had won it for Chelsea, only to see his goal ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up.
Aston Villa struggle in a below-par performance against Chelsea
Emiliano Martínez – 6
The Argentina international would have been relieved to have found out that Nicolas Jackson was offside after he had been lobbed by the Chelsea striker, and had just the one save to make during his time on the pitch (Sofascore).
Forced off at half-time with a hamstring injury which will be a concern for Unai Emery.
Matty Cash – 6
Influential in Villa’s second goal as he picked up the ball in a central position high up the pitch and played it to Rogers. Struggled slightly defensively as he won just three of his seven ground duels while also being dribbled past on one occasion.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Had plenty to do in the second half as Chelsea piled on the pressure but hardly put a foot wrong as he made four clearances and won three of his four aerial duels.
Pau Torres – 5
Struggled slightly more than his centre-back partner as he won just one of his four ground duels while he was also dribbled past once.
Lucas Digne – 5
Struggled at times to deal with Madueke throughout the match and did very little to support his side in the final third.
He did make four tackles but was dribbled past twice on what was an overall difficult evening for the left-back.
Douglas Luiz – 4
Lost his cool early in the second half and was shown a yellow card as he came to blows with Moisés Caicedo. Dispossessed on the edge of his own penalty area which led to Chelsea’s goal, before being substituted in the 74th minute after winning just 50 per cent of his ground duels and giving the ball away six times.
A poor evening for the Brazillian.
Youri Tielemans – 4
Looked relatively comfortable in midfield up until an injury forced him off midway through the first half. During his time on the pitch, he made two tackles and won three of his four ground duels and looked relatively upset as he hobbled off at Villa Park.
John McGinn – 6
Showed purpose and desire early on as he arrived in the Chelsea box and saw his shot deflect in off Cucurella to open the scoring. Struggled in the second half to control the midfield as Chelsea dominated the ball.
Morgan Rogers – 7
Fantastic finish for his goal as he shot across Dorde Petrovic and found the bottom corner. Struggled to make an impact on the match during the second half as Chelsea dominated the ball.
Leon Bailey – 5
Made a bright start but struggled as the match went on before being brought off by Emery.
During his time on the pitch, he completed just 79 per cent of his passes and won just 30 per cent of his ground duels, characterising his below-par performance.
Ollie Watkins nowhere to be seen for Aston Villa against Chelsea
Ollie Watkins – 5
An uncharacteristically quiet first-half from the Villa talisman who missed a good chance which fell to him in the 36th minute. Was hardly involved in the second half either and managed just 20 touches in total across the 90 minutes, while he missed a huge chance to win the match late on.
Subsitutes
Moussa Diaby (On for Tielemans 27′) – 4
Made no impact after coming and was eventually axed late into the match despite being brought on as a first-half substitute.
Robin Olsen (On for Martinez 45′) – 6
Could do very little about either goal which he conceded and made a huge save to deny Palmer late on.
Diego Carlos (On for Bailey 75′) – 5
Tim Iroegbunam (On for Luiz 75′) – 5
Jhon Duran (On for Diaby 83′) – 4
In other Aston Villa news, an Emery exit admission has emerged amid interest from Bayern Munich.
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