Aston Villa player ratings v Brighton – Ezri Konsa struggles with 3/10, Robin Olsen superb
Aston Villa fell to a late 1-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion on a disappointing afternoon at the Amex Stadium.
The Villans looked sluggish, with this game sandwiched by both legs of the Europa Conference League semi-final with Olympiacos.
Pascal Gross and John McGinn both had goals ruled out in the second period, before Joao Pedro converted a penalty that Robin Olsen initially saved.
Villa News rates the performance of each visiting player out of 10, using stats provided by Sofascore.
Robin Olsen almost rescues Aston Villa
Robin Olsen – 9/10
Olsen was arguably Villa’s worst performer against Olympiacos, yet he was undoubtedly their best performer at The Amex as he made seven saves and prevented 2.09 goals. Three of those saves were of the highest quality and he then kept out Joao Pedro’s penalty, only for the Brighton man to convert at the second attempt.
Ezri Konsa – 3/10
Was given a tough time of things by Simon Adingra right from the off and was beaten too often. Looked to have gotten away with it, but he conceded a penalty with his foul on the lively Brighton attacker and that proved a decisive moment. Conceded two fouls in total – no Villa player gave away more – before being hauled off with 57 touches to his name.
Diego Carlos – 6/10
Bossed his box with a game-high five clearances and would have had a clean sheet if not for Konsa’s foul on Adingra. Gross did get in between Villa’s defenders for his goal, but he was offside so they cannot be blamed for that.
Pau Torres – 6/10
Also cannot be blamed too much given Villa were minutes away from keeping a clean sheet. Completed 94.1-per-cent of his passes – the highest of any Villa outfield starter – as he calmly tried to play out from the back.
Lucas Digne – 5/10
Was not his usual self down the flank as he failed to complete any dribbles or indeed any accurate crosses, while defensively he registered just one tackle.
Douglas Luiz – 5.5/10
Registered a couple of interceptions and tackles, showing how he did break up play at times, but Brighton managed to overrun Villa in the centre of the park.
John McGinn – 5/10
Another Villa player who just was not at it. Was tasked with marking Joao Pedro, but did not intercept the ball once as he came out second best in that duel. Had the ball in the net in the second half but was ruled out for offside.
Morgan Rogers in Aston Villa injury blow
Leon Bailey – 4.5/10
Offered so very little out wide, even when switching positions following Morgan Rogers’ withdrawal, as he completed just one out of three dribbles and registered no shots of any note.
Morgan Rogers – 3/10
Used centrally in a gamble that did not pay off. Had just 10 touches of the ball, none of those meaningful, before limping off injured in what could be a massive blow for the Villans.
Moussa Diaby – 5/10
Moved to the right when Rogers went off but did not really make much difference. Ended the game with a rather woeful 58.3-per-cent pass-accuracy rate, although he can at least say he was the only visiting player to register a shot on target.
Ollie Watkins – 5/10
No shots and just 32 touches of the ball, while he lost possession nine times. An expected goals (xG) return of close to zero says it all about this ineffective display, although that was mainly down to a lack of service.
In other Aston Villa news, Don Goodman has warned the Villans they face an “impossible” Ollie Watkins transfer task.
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