Asensio stinker as MOTM gets 8/10 – Aston Villa player ratings v Southampton
Aston Villa secured a hard-fought 3-0 win against an already relegated Southampton side on Saturday as Marco Asensio had a rare shocker.
The Villans travelled to the south coast on 12 April and dominated possession but failed to turn that into clear-cut chances at St Mary’s.
There was little to speak of for the away side until Ollie Watkins won a penalty, and the Spanish loanee had his spot-kick effort saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
The England international made up for his teammate’s error just minutes later as the striker flicked an effort over the Saints keeper and in off the bar.
Just minutes later, Donyell Malen made it two before Asensio missed another penalty, but Ramsdale’s save fell to John McGinn, who tapped in for 3-0.
This spared the blushes of the away side, who really should have secured the win much earlier than they went on to do.
Regardless of this, the three points has sent Unai Emery’s side fifth, and now Villa News rates the players out of 10.
Aston Villa player ratings v Southampton
Emi Martinez – 6
Matty Cash – 5
Ezri Konsa – 5
Tyrone Mings – 5
Ian Maatsen – 5
Amadou Onana – 6
Youri Tielemans – 7
Marco Asensio – 3
Morgan Rogers – 6
Jacob Ramsey – 6
Marcus Rashford – 5
Substitutes
Donyell Malen – 7
Ollie Watkins – 8
John McGinn – 7
Andres Garcia – N/A
Boubacar Kamara – N/A
Watkins shines for Aston Villa v Southampton
There have been many questions aimed at the England international in recent weeks as he has failed to have much of an impact upfront.
This has seen him fire a blank in his last five appearances for the Villans since his last goal, away to Brentford at the start of March.
| Date | Opponent | Goals |
| 09/04/25 | PSG | 0 |
| 05/04/25 | Nottingham Forest | 0 |
| 02/04/25 | Brighton | 0 |
| 30/03/25 | Preston North End | 0 |
| 12/03/25 | Club Brugge | 0 |
With a clash coming up against PSG in the second leg of the Champions League quarter final, he will be hoping to start and make his impact known.
The confidence will be there after a goal at St Mary’s, especially after a frustrating performance from Rashford, who started as a number nine once again.
It will certainly be interesting to see who Emery looks to in mid-week, but there is no doubt that whoever it is has a huge job on their hands.