Second City Derby Victory: Aston Villa Player Ratings vs. Birmingham City
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa’s dramatic victory at St. Andrew’s has the club firmly back in the play-off conversation. How did the individuals in claret and blue perform?
ICYMI: Jack Grealish scored a sublime second-half goal to give Aston Villa a feisty 1-0 victory.
But that wasn’t the whole story. By now you know he was assaulted on the pitch by an opposing supporter. The EFL released a hilariously stupid press statement in which they mixed the word “condemn” with “condone.” It’s par for the course with that organization, if we’re being honest.
The EFL manages to say it “condones” not “condemns” attack on Grealish https://t.co/n8ul7mvxNV
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) March 10, 2019
Following the full-time whistle both Birmingham City and Aston Villa Football Club released separate statements. Villa’s in particular, was rather scathing.
But enough about the aftermath, let’s get to the player ratings:
6.5. 4/4 in the saves department. Jed Steer had a relatively relaxed afternoon as Birmingham City didn’t create too many opportunities on-target. Most chances were missed altogether. Steer had one poor ball late on in the match that went out-of-play.. GK. Aston Villa. JED STEER
RB. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY. 5.0. 57.5% passing accuracy is going to knock you down a few points. Ahmed Elmohamady found pockets of space going forward, but his overall contribution was minimal.
KORTNEY HAUSE. 7.5. If you take out the narrow penalty call, and arguable red card foul, Kortney Hause was a beast. Playing on his less-favored right-foot wasn’t a problem for the Wolverhampton loanee. <em>11 (!) </em>aerial clearances.. RCB. Aston Villa
7.5. Equally as brilliant partnering Hause, Tyrone Mings was a beast on Sunday.. LCB. Aston Villa. TYRONE MINGS
6.5. Neil Taylor <strong>assisted </strong>Jack Grealish’s goal from an easy pass in the attacking third. Taylor held the team’s shape for most of the match.. LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR
Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN. 5.5. Glenn Whelan was a offensive pedestrian before his departure to John McGinn, but he did provide four clearances, two interceptions, and one tackle.. CM
5.5. Not Conor’s best outing as the Ireland international couldn’t get it going as a two-way midfielder.. CM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE
For obvious reasons, Jack deserves a mythical 10/10. Much of this doesn’t have to do with his performance on the pitch, but his calm attitude that allowed the match to progress. Some stats of note: 83% passing accuracy, two shots, three key passes.. CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH. 10
6.0. Just 35 touches for Anwar El Ghazi. He found space down the left-wing, but couldn’t quite provide a killer ball.. LW. Aston Villa. ANWAR EL GHAZI
TAMMY ABRAHAM. 6.0. He’ll regret his missed chance that went just over the bar.. CF. Aston Villa
29 touches, zero shots or key passes. To his credit, Albert did track back a few times.. RW. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH. 5.0
André Green and John McGinn both entered in the 62nd-minute and provided an instant spark to the attack. Both players could be pushing for starts soon. Birkir Bjarnason had a late cameo appearance as well. All player data provided by WhoScored match center.
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