Aston Villa 2-2 West Bromwich Albion: Player ratings following controversy
By Josh Tonti
90 minutes of hard work was undone in a single moment from the ineptitude of a referee and his linesman. Aston Villa were so close to earning three points at The Hawthorns.
At some point I stopped becoming surprised at what is the complete embarrassment of the EFL’s officiating standards. Week after week there is some sort of match-altering controversy that is poorly missed. It affects every club, not just Aston Villa.
That’s what happened Friday evening as West Brom forward Jay Rodriguez handled a ball not once, but twice, as it rolled into the net with minutes of extra time remaining. That goal ensured points were split evenly for a 2-2 draw.
But enough of that for now. Let’s get into the player ratings as Dean Smith elected for a mostly unchanged XI from the one that trounced Middlesbrough 3-0.
5.0. It’s a matter of when, not if, he’s replaced. The last goal should never have happened. Made a few clean saves and claimed a few balls on the run.. GK. Aston Villa. ORJAN NYLAND
LB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON. 4.5. Not his finest day at right-back as Harvey Barnes dribbled around the Scottish Cafu all match long. Slightly better when he moved to the left side.
6.0. Solid, dependable, but had two goals scored upon. Tuanzebe and Chester completed 87% of their passes each.. CB. Aston Villa. AXEL TUANZEBE
6.0. Solid, dependable, but had two goals scored upon. Tuanzebe and Chester completed 87% of their passes each.. CB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER
5.0. The better fullback before taken off injured on the 51st-minute. It didn’t look good either; Neil Taylor could be sidelined for a few weeks, which would not be ideal with a heavy fixture period upcoming.. LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR
6.0. He’s still working through the whole marking process in the No. 6 role. Conor Hourihane is moving the ball well, but I’d like to see him more actively pressing opposing ball carriers.. CDM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE
JOHN MCGINN. 6.5. Surprised to find out he completed just 71% of his passes, but I thought John McGinn counter-attacked really well in several instances. He struck the post, too, which nearly resulted in a Villa goal. He drew six fouls as well, thus relieving pressure and creating opportunities.. CM. Aston Villa
7.5. Truly awesome performance undone by a late injury. <strong>Assisted </strong>one Anwar El Ghazi goal and could/should have had another one or two if finishing was better on the night.. CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH
8.5. Not sure if Anwar El Ghazi was <strong>credited </strong>with the first goal – a deflection off Baggies’ central defender Ahmed Hegazi, but there was no doubt about the second. El Ghazi fired a slicing effort beyond Sam Johnstone’s outstretched hand. All of a sudden, he turned into Villa’s No. 1 wing option.. RW/LW. Aston Villa. ANWAR EL GHAZI
CF. Aston Villa. TAMMY ABRAHAM. 5.5. Finishing was abysmal, but you can’t bemoan a player creating so many chances. It’s better to have the creator missing chances than a lesser striker wasting space and waiting for his teammates to provide.
LW/RW. Aston Villa. YANNICK BOLAISE. 4.5. Might need to sit down for a match and provide from the bench. Bolasie was a huge hindrance to Villa during the match. At one point turned the ball over four times in a six minute period.
All data provided by WhoScored match center.