Aston Villa 1-0 Swansea City: Player Ratings – October 20th
By Josh Tonti
Dean Smith was smiling ear to ear as he and Aston Villa dispatched Swansea City 1-0 on Saturday.
A minute’s applause preceded opening kickoff for the passing of former Chairman Sir Doug Ellis. R.I.P.
New man Dean Smith lined Villa up in a 4-3-3 that utilized a high press for much of the match. That press created countless opportunities for the claret and blue as Swansea struggled to get things going. The midfield trio of: Birkir Bjarnason, John McGinn, and Jack Grealish cleaned seemingly every ball to the tune of 9 tackles won and 3 clearances.
Up front, Ahmed Elmohamady put down a solid shift and an assist to the lone goalscorer Tammy Abraham. Albert Adomah created numerous chances on the counter as well.
Ørjan Nyland made 4 key saves in net just behind central defense pairing Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester. Neil Taylor was reintroduced at left-back and he excelled as well. In all, it was a tremendous first match for the Dean Smith reign.
Villa played well, Villa played exciting, fun football, but most importantly, Villa played together.
It was a collective effort of all 14 players to keep Swansea off the board and get 3 points.