Claret Villans
Fansided

Aston Villa 2-1 Blackburn Rovers: Player Ratings – March 30th

By Josh Tonti

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Anwar El Ghazi of Aston Villa celebrates his goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Middlesbrough at Villa Park on March 16, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Anwar El Ghazi of Aston Villa celebrates his goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Middlesbrough at Villa Park on March 16, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 2
Next

Aston Villa held firm for a 2-1 home victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Goals from Tammy Abraham, Tyrone Mings and Amari’i Bell contributed to this end-to-end affair.

Lineups & First-Half:

Manager Dean Smith called upon an unchanged starting XI with Glenn Whelan, Neil Taylor, Jed Steer and other retaining their places. Axel Tuanzebe, however, returned to the bench after months away with a foot fracture. 21-year-old goalkeeper Matija Sarkic took over the deputy role from Lovre Kalinic and Mark Bunn. No word on why, as Kalinic appeared for Croatia over the international break.

Tammy Abraham opened the scoring after brilliant work from André Green, Jack Grealish and John McGinn. England manager Gareth Southgate was in attendance, too. Surely he enjoyed what he saw from Villa’s English contingent.

Second-Half:

More of the same early all on as Villa controlled the match. Tyrone Mings headed in the game’s second from a John McGinn set piece. Blackburn, however, grew in confidence following a trio of substitutions. Left-back Amari’i Bell scored for Rovers after Jed Steer spilled a free kick from Charlie Mulgrew.

Villa held firm, and collected three points in a 2-1 victory.

Home/Analysis