Tielemans shines, 4/10 teammate flops – Aston Villa player ratings v Club Brugge
Aston Villa beat Club Brugge in an 3-1 win during the first leg of their Champions League clash on Wednesday.
Leon Bailey opened the scoring with a coolly placed shot into the bottom-left corner after Tyrone Mings brought down the free-kick that was sent into Club Brugge’s box by Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian side weren’t trailing for all that long, however, as Maxim De Cuyper levelled the scores in the 12th minute.
Then, even though the game was end-to-end throughout most, the final 10 minutes were all Villa with an own goal from Brandon Mechele giving them their second of the night.
To top things off, Villa managed to add a third after Matty Cash was brought down in Club Brugge’s box which resulted in a penalty that Marco Asensio buried.
Here, Villa News rates each player out of 10 for their performance.
Aston Villa player ratings v Club Brugge
Emiliano Martinez – 7
Perhaps he should have got down to the floor a bit quicker for Club Brugge’s first of the night. However, apart from that, he put in a good performance.
Axel Disasi – 5 (Off for Matty Cash, 64′)
Too slow when tracking back for De Cuyper’s goal but put in a solid display while being played out of position at right-back.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Put in another solid shift at the heart of Villa’s defence, the defender made a couple of forward runs but excelled in one-on-one situations in his natural position of centre-back.
Tyrone Mings – 8
Far and away the Villans’ best defender on the night, played a massive part in their first goal with his headed pass towards Bailey and his goal-line clearance in the 68th minute was one of many incredible moments from the defender in the game.
Lucas Digne – 5
Wasn’t his best game in a Villa shirt, seemed off the pace and ran the ball out of play one or two times.
John McGinn – 6 (Off for Jacob Ramsey, 64′)
Solid performance in the centre of the park, put in plenty of work defensively and was a decent link between the defence and the attack.
Tielemans shines for Villa once again
Youri Tielemans – 8
Impressive night for the Belgian, his set-piece work was a sight to behold with his first of the night leading to Villa netting their opener. Put the cherry on top of Villa’s cake after a coolly placed penalty sent them 3-1 up.
Leon Bailey – 7 (Off for Boubacar Kamara, 64′)
The most dangerous of Villa’s attackers on the night after he scored the opening goal of the game when he reacted first to an inch-perfect headed pass from Mings, but should have done better for Brugge’s first goal.
Morgan Rogers – 5
It was always going to be a struggle for Rogers against Club Brugge and that was certainly the case for most of the game on Tuesday evening until his perfect cross made its way to Mechele’s feet who put the ball into the back of his own net, gifting Villa the win.
Marcus Rashford – 6 (Off for Marco Asensio, 64′)
Put in a good shift for Emery’s men once again, had a couple of chances with his best coming after Martinez sent a perfect goal-kick his way.
Ollie Watkins – 4 (Off for Bogarde, 91′)
Didn’t get the service he required from his teammates in the final third, was often left to fend for himself up top, which meant that he hardly had any chances to change the game.
| Aston Villa | Club Brugge |
| Leon Bailey 3′ | Maxim De Cuyper 12′ |
| Brandon Mechele 82′ (OG) | |
| Marco Asensio 88′ |
Substitutes
Marco Asensio (On for Rashford, 64′) – 7
As soon as the Spaniard entered the pitch Villa’s attacks improved, his keen eye for a pass almost got the Villans ahead but it wasn’t meant to be as Matty Cash ended up ballooning the ball over the bar.
Boubacar Kamara (On for Bailey, 64′) – 6
Didn’t have all that much to do when he came on. helped hold down the centre of the park and made a fair few forward passes.
Matty Cash (On for Disasi, 64′) – 5
Had one of the Villans’ best chances of the second half to go level but instead he missed the target and sent his shot over the crossbar.
Jacob Ramsey (On for McGinn, 64′) – 6
Much like Kamara, didn’t have all that much to do after being brought on, helped hold down the centre of the park and made a fair few impressive tackles on Brugge’s attack.
Lamare Bogarde (On for Watkins, 91′) – N/A