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Aston Villa 4-2 Blues: Player Ratings from Second City Derby win

By Josh Tonti

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Alan Hutton of Aston Villa celebrates during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Birmingham City at Villa Park on November 25, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Alan Hutton of Aston Villa celebrates during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Birmingham City at Villa Park on November 25, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Aston Villa Football Club survived a Second City Derby scare on Sunday – overcoming a 1-0 deficit to win 4-2. Goals from Jonathan Kodjia, Jack Grealish, Tammy Abraham, and ALAN HUTTON fueled the victory.

Well that was exciting, yeah?

Dean Smith’s Villa overcame a 1-0 deficit midway through the first-half to finish with another three points. The claret and blues held an incredible 74% possession in the game; which they needed, as defending was rather porous.

Lukas Jutkiewicz gave Birmingham City the lead just before 30 minutes off a corner kick. Ørjan Nyland got caught up in tugging war with a Blues player – falling over in the process – giving Jutkiewicz an unmarked far post to score from. Villa responded in quick order with goals from Jonathan Kodjia and Jack Grealish, but in between there was a fortunate let-off with Che Adams hammering the post. Had that gone in, the end result may have been far different.

Tammy Abraham earned a penalty kick shortly after the break. He calmly hugged the inside of the post to give Villa a 3-1 lead.

Goals from Kristian Pedersen and Alan Hutton gave the match a final 4-2 verdict.

1 save from 3 shots-on-target. Not much to do, but why exactly was Orjan Nyland on the ground for seemingly every single corner kick?. GK. . ORJAN NYLAND. 5.0

7.5. Strong, forceful, and passionate. That goal was Alan Hutton’s opus magnum in a Villa shirt.. RB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON

AXEL TUANZEBE. 6.5. Ditto for Axel Tuanzebe. The Manchester United loanee was especially strong carrying possession forward.. RCB. Aston Villa

We’ve seen better from the Villa skipper. The important thing, though, was that James Chester was fit enough to play after being knocked out of a Wales qualifier.. LCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER. 5.5

LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR. 5.5. Not much to say good or bad for Neil Taylor. 1 v. 1 defending needs some work though.

Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN. 5.5. This is a tough evaluation for Glenn Whelan. He was partially at fault for both Birmingham City goals, but was otherwise a positive influence in the game. Replaced by Henri Lansbury in the 68th-minute.. CDM

Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE. 6.0. Not as intense as his counterparts, but Conor Hourihane delivered a few nice set pieces.. CM

7.5. Sensational and Aston Villa’s best player on the pitch, again.. CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH

RW. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH. 7.5. Departed injured, but Albert Adomah set-up both of Aston Villa’s first-half goals.

7.0. Anonymous in the first-half, but Tammy Abraham was a force after the break.. CF. Aston Villa. TAMMY ABRAHAM

Carried the ball very well in  the attack. His goal was a vital finish for the claret and blues.. LW. Aston Villa. JONATHAN KODJIA. 7.0

Any data provided by WhoScored match center.

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