Aston Villa vs. Sunderland Player Grades: Grabban downs Black Cats
By Josh Tonti
Goals from former Sunderland striker Lewis Grabban, James Chester and Conor Hourihane ensured Aston Villa downed a dispirited Black Cats’ team.
Aston Villa defeated a lifeless Sunderland team on Tuesday.
Trotting out a healthier match-day eighteen, Steve Bruce was able to call upon Albert Adomah for his usual left wing role. Additionally, Jack Grealish was named to bench, where his 35-minute trot in the second-half puts him in good condition for this Saturday’s match with league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sunderland were quite poor in the first-half. Partly due to performance, partly due to Villa being simply better and partly through injury. First-choice center back Tyias Browning was withdrawn with a groin strain for Billy Jones. Captain, and fellow central defender John O’Shea, was taken off too, as Sunderland manager Chris Coleman switched to a back four.
Aston Villa got their first goal from a left wing cross via Albert Adomah. It soared over Jason Steele and onto Lewis Grabban’s head, where he connected with the back of the net. James Chester added Villa’s second, and his second on the season, right before halftime, hammering home a downward header.
Conor Hourihane added the third in the 66th-minute after a series of slick passing. His cross/shot hybrid deflected off Black Cats left back Bryan Oviedo, into the net. It would be Hourihane’s 10th goal on the season, but it might officially go down as an own goal.
7.5. I counted three inaccurate passes in the first 21 minutes of action before I stopped keeping track. But, he kept the clean sheet with an organized defense, which ultimately is all that matters. Two excellent second-half stops.. GK. Aston Villa. SAM JOHNSTONE
6.5. Hard to critically evaluate the defense as Sunderland were really poor going forward. Elmohamady hardly put a wrong foot forward though, as the Egyptian international ended with 68 touches. Struggled at times keeping up with Aiden McGeady.. RB. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY
8.5. Booked in the first half, but scored Villa’s second right before halftime. Chester dealt with Sunderland crosses very well, clearing a bunch of low-driven attempts. Ended with <em><strong>11 </strong></em>clearances.. RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER
Aston Villa. JOHN TERRY. 7.0. Was solid, is all I can really say. Limped around for maybe 3-4 minutes in the second-half, but was able to continue.. LCB
7.0. Didn’t get forward too much, and Donald Love caused a few problems early in the match, but Neil Taylor held down his flank.. LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR
Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN. 7.0. One total tackle in the first-half, but wasn’t required to do much else. Very crisp passing with an 86% mark. Ultimately suffered what looked like a painful leg injury. Withdrawn for Mile Jedinak on the 59th-minute. Early reports indicate he won’t make it for Wolves on Saturday.. CDM
ROBERT SNODGRASS. 6.5. <strong>Assisted </strong>Chester’s headed goal. Snodgrass was very creative and instrumental to the Aston Villa attack. However, he did lose the ball a lot. Sunderland weren’t able to capitalize, but a better team would have.. RM. Aston Villa
7.0. Instrumental in transition from defense into attack. Hourihane hardly put a wrong foot forward with 88% passing. Two really poor turnovers in the dying embers of the match, however.. CM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE
ALBERT ADOMAH. 7.0. All in all, a solid return from Albert Adomah. Passing and finishing were a little off after he transitioned to center forward after Bjarnason’ introduction. Finished with an <strong>assist.</strong>. LM. Aston Villa
<strong>Scored</strong> Villa’s opener and won the set piece on their second. Take a bow, Lewis Grabban. Second-half was a little sloppy.. SS. Aston Villa. LEWIS GRABBAN. 8.0
Good off-ball movement created space for his Aston Villa teammates, but that’s all I can really say. His dribbling left a lot to be desired. One left-wing cross threatened Sunderland. Ended with a mediocre 14 touches.. CF. Aston Villa. SCOTT HOGAN. 6.0
All data provided by WhoScored match center. A test with league leaders Wolves await at the weekend.