Aston Villa down Wigan 1-0 at Villa Park
By Josh Tonti
Jack Grealish’s 88th minute curler was the difference for Aston Villa. The claret and blue defeated lowly 23rd-place Wigan Athletic at home.
A huge sigh of relief for Villa, as Jack Grealish cometh to the rescue. In what was otherwise a fairly boring match, Grealish’s strike gave all three points to Villa in this contest.
Manager Steve Bruce improves his record to 5-3-1 since taking over for Roberto Di Matteo.
Not much to write about as both sides struggled to create chances. Both teams were set-up in five man midfields, respectively. Without further ado, our Aston Villa player grades.
GK Pierluigi Gollini 6
Largely untroubled the entire match. Wigan did not offer much in the attack away from home.
RB Alan Hutton 6
Pretty anonymous play from the Scotland international. Nearly injured himself in the first half by going in for a rough challenge. Picked up a late yellow card.
RCB Tommy Elphick 6
Rebounded nicely from last weekend’s match at Leeds. Still far from perfect, though.
LCB James Chester 6.5
As always, calm and assured captaining the Aston Villa squad. Defended brilliantly twice as the last man.
LB Jordan Amavi 7
The most influential Villa player for most of the match. Buccaneering runs down the left flank all game long.
CM Mile Jedinak 6
Shielded the back line resolutely. Had to cover more ground than he is accustomed to – in a two-man midfield.
CM Gary Gardner 5
Mostly ineffectual for much of the match. Substituted on the hour mark for Ross McCormack.
RM Albert Adomah 5.5
Not quite as rampaging as previous matches. Adomah’s pace and ball carrying abilities really relieve pressure from the midfield.
CAM Jack Grealish 8 & ClaretVillans Man of the Match
Who else? Easily Villa’s most influential player on the evening – the winning goalscorer on 88 minutes. His ability to draw fouls is quite unlike any other player in the world.
LM Jordan Ayew 5
Disappointing match from Jordan Ayew. Anonymous during the first half and conceded two bad turnovers in stoppage time.
ST Jonathan Kodjia 6
Came close to scoring on a half-dozen or so half chances. Solid off-the-ball movement.
SUBSTITUTES
CAM Ross McCormack 6
ST Rudy Gestede N/R
CM Leandro Bacuna N/R