Aston Villa vs. Reading: Player ratings from frustrating 1-1 draw
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa drop two points at home against the 23rd-placed club in Reading. Referree Darren England called a nefarious penalty against James Chester in the dying embers of extra time.
Well, things could be better. Aston Villa finished the two-game homestand with two points after draws with Brentford and Reading. Ahmed Elmohamady’s second-half header was nullified by Sam Baldock’s last-minute penalty kick.
Through five league games, Villa remain unbeaten, sitting fourth after two wins and three draws. Let’s rummage through player ratings from Saturday’s match vs. Reading:
Nyland earns a 7 for the incredible double save he made late in the second-half. He denied Meite and Baldock from point-blank range. In total, the Norwegian made five saves from six attempts.. GK. Aston Villa. ORJAN NYLAND. 7.0
5.0. Tuanzebe was pretty indifferent for much of the game. Reading’s left flank was mostly nonexistent after Mo Barrow was taken off at halftime. The Manchester United loanee mostly stayed back to defend, as opposed to rummaging forward to join the attack.. RB. Aston Villa. AXEL TUANZEBE
5.0. Darren England may have called a ridiculous penalty, but James Chester left his feet for absolutely no reason at all. The Wales international hasn’t quite been himself this season.. RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER
3.5. Just read the tweets. They’re all accurate at this point.. LCB. Aston Villa. MILE JEDINAK
ALAN HUTTON. 5.5. Hutton was a poor defender in this one. His deliveries, too, left much to be desired. Still, he was heavily involved on the afternoon and did a lot to usher Aston Villa forward. He had 89 total touches.. LB. Aston Villa
6.0. Bjarnason had a nice rebound outing after struggling against Ipswich Town. He hasn’t looked quite comfortable at defensive midfield yet, however. He lacks the vision needed to adequately space himself off-the-ball.. CDM. Aston Villa. BIRKIR BJARNASON
6.0. Elmohamady <strong>scored his second goal</strong> on the season, two more than he contributed all of last season. However, he struggled to produce anything incisive in the first-half. Reading simply sat on his in-swinging crosses.. RM. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY
6.0. Jack was injured late in the first-half and replaced at halftime by Conor Hourihane. Hopefully, it’s just precautionary. He contributed 3 shots and 88% passing accuracy in 45 minutes of work.. CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH
Aston Villa. JOHN MCGINN. 6.0. McGinn always plays at 100%. Sometimes, that’s a detriment with the ball in possession. The Scotland international could take a page out of Grealish’s book and use his dribbling skills to find the right pass, not necessarily the first one. Still, McGinn ended on 82% passing accuracy, an early shot-on-target (should have squared it up), and a pair of threatening set piece deliveries.. CM
7.5. Aston Villa’s <em>man-of-the-match, </em>bar none. <strong>He assisted </strong>Elmo’s opener and muscled every Reading FC player off the ball. It’s early, but El Ghazi looks like the real deal – a player whose talents previously earned him call-ups to the Dutch National Team. Villa didn’t look the same after Steve Bruce withdrew him on the 66th-minute.. LM. Aston Villa. ANWAR EL GHAZI
Ended with 5 key passes, per WhoScored, but Jonathan Kodjia is capable of so much more. His hold-up play, though theatrical, hardly contributed in the attack. The Ivorian needs to stay on his feet in possession – far too much rolling around.. CF. Aston Villa. JONATHAN KODJIA. 6.0
All data provided by WhoScored match center. Disagree? Let us know!
Burton Albion on Tuesday awaits in a second-round Carabao Cup tie. UTV.