Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City: Player Grades from 2-0 victory
By Josh Tonti
The city is ours after another Second City Derby. Aston Villa defeated Birmingham City 2-0 at Villa Park on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.
Seven. League. Wins. On. The. Bounce.
Aston Villa came out the gates on Sunday’s Second City Derby in blistering fashion. The claret and blue dominated the opening 30-minute period with several threatening movements. Scott Hogan struck the cross bar in the 16th-minute, while Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah both had efforts sail just wide on David Stockdale’s net.
Mile Jedinak, replacing Birkir Bjarnason in defensive midfield, was a stalwart in stopping Blues. In all, Aston Villa controlled 55%, out-shot Birmingham 14-9, and were simply far quicker to the ball, winning 26 tackles to the opposition’s 11. Jack Grealish played a huge part in that, as do the fullbacks.
Grealish’s transformative change into a ball-winning #10 is pushing Villa back into the Premier League picture. Without further ado, match grades from the Second City Derby.
Aston Villa. SAM JOHNSTONE. 6.5. Kept the clean sheet and called into action when needed, but had a quiet day in the Second City Derby. Distribution was dreadful in the first-half is my only real complaint.. GK
5.5. 47.6% passing clip in the first-half needs serious improvement. Elmo linked-up with Snodgrass for one chance and nearly came through with an assist.. RB. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY
Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER. 6.5. Nothing of note good or bad from James Chester. The entire backline kept their shape extremely well, limiting Birmingham City to little offensively.. RCB
JOHN TERRY. 6.5. Had a noticeable slip that sent Blues’ Sam Gallagher racing through! Other than that though, pretty strong from the Aston Villa captain.. LCB. Aston Villa
6.0. Poor crossing and even poorer ball retention, but Hutton got into some decent positions on Sunday. Defended well, but was caught out on Sam Gallagher’s streak on Blues’ right flank.. LB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON
Aston Villa. MILE JEDINAK. 7.5. 11 aerial challenges won. <em>Eleven. </em>Really good inside the box too, making several important stops. Big ups to Steve Bruce in rotating Jedinak for Bjarnason to contest on set-pieces, etc.. CDM
Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE. 6.5. Sealed all three points for Aston Villa with a beautifully-taken volley. Had a shaky first-half, but recovered well. The 63.3% passing clip is an eye sore.. CM
Aston Villa. ROBERT SNODGRASS. 6.5. Quieter than his other attacking compatriots, but still quite good nonetheless. 68 total touches from Snoddy.. RM
Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH. 8.0. Other-worldly awesome once more. Picked-up an assist and was withdrawn in the 84th-minute. Unsure of how many fouls Grealish won for Aston Villa, but it was at least 4-5.. CAM
8.0. Worringly picked-up a knock in the first-half, but was able to continue. During ESPN’s blackout, Uncle Albert scored Villa’s first with a strike from the edge that bounced off the post and in! 3 total shots on the afternoon. LM. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH
SCOTT HOGAN. 7.0. Really strong, encompassing performance from Scott Hogan. Heavily involved in the attack and his constant pressing pushed Birmingham City into awkward clearances. No goal, but came close a few times, including a strike on the bar.. CF. Aston Villa
All data provided by WhoScored match center. Villa travels to Craven Cottage next Saturday, the 17th of February.