Player Ratings: Charlton Athletic vs Aston Villa

The latest friendly on Aston Villa’s preseason tour was against the new Championship side Charlton Athletic. Although the stream was clearly in preseason form — dipping in and out throughout, the Villa came out to play and built upon their performance at Walsall with a 4-1 win. Both sides were playoff winners at Wembley, so it was interesting to see the Villa play against a confident side ahead of their first competitive game. Also, with Wesley picking up a knock in a training game against the Kuwait national team, this game saw a massive opportunity for Keinan Davis as he got the start. With all that being said let’s get into it, ratings will still be given from 1-10 with 6 being about average.

Starting XI: GK: Jed Steer, RB: Ahmed Elmohamady, CB: Ezri Konsa, CB: Tyrone Mings, LB: Neil Taylor, CM: Conor Hourihane, CM: John McGinn, CM: Jack Grealish, LW: Anwar El Ghazi, ST: Keinan Davis, RW: Trezeguet

Jed Steer

Steer did not have much to deal with on the day as the Claret and Blue dominated in possession, but he did everything that was asked of him. In distribution, Steer was composed and chose well when it was time to work out of the back or when a ball forward was more effective. When pressured, Steer looked more composed than he had against Shrewsbury. Against the penalty, the ball hit back of the net but it was no fault of Steer as he guessed the right way and dove to cover the side, the ball was just inch perfect against the post. Rating: 6.5

Ahmed Elmohamady (Subbed 45’)

This game was the first appearance of Elmo this preseason after appearing in the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. In his Villa return the veteran right back put in a solid performance. The Egyptian was always ready to put a cross in per usual and looks ready for a competition at the right back spot with Guilbert. Rating: 6.5

Ezri Konsa (Subbed 65’)

When the club bought Konsa earlier in the summer from Brentford, many of the reports on his play listed him as a potential filled player but also very raw. Against Charlton we found out exactly what that meant. Konsa was erratic as there were times he looked composed and able in the back and in others he did not. Two moments that stuck out to me were: early in the 5th minute in he almost was pressured into a giveaway just outside his own penalty area and the penalty he gave away due to frustration. Both instances show that the player, while still quality, needs some maturation before he becomes a permanent fixture in the starting XI. Rating: 5

Tyrone Mings (Subbed 83’)

Big Tyrone was here, there, and every-freaking-where in The Valley as he put his stamp on the game defensively. Mings was incredibly mobile in his range of cover and seemed to be a bit of a bully to the Charlton players. Offensively, the center-half seems to be in midseason form as he brought the ball beyond halfway a few times and occasionally started the play forward. Rating: 7

Neil Taylor (Subbed 65’)

The Welsh international was a good defensive influence and came out of his shell a bit more than I had expected. Taylor came forward and linked up play on his left side effectively and had picked up several loose balls on his wing as well. Defensively is where the former Swansea man truly shined though as he had several tackles along the sideline and cleared a ball in front of goal in the 62nd minute. Rating: 6.5

Conor Hourihane (Subbed 65’)

Hourihane again got the start in the deep midfield role yesterday and although he was not imposing in the role, his influence allowed Grealish and McGinn to get forward and play with freedom. Also, he almost flashed a bit of brilliance on the free kick in the 14th with a great ball towards goal that was just above the crossbar. Rating: 6.5

John McGinn

If John McGinn can repeat performances like that regularly, I’ll start drinking Irn-Bru and only eat Meatballs. This was a classic performance by the Scot as he ran the pitch ragged, used his low center of gravity to win and keep balls, and scored one of the best goals I have ever seen through a combination of sheer willpower and skill. Also, his first goal was nothing to sneer at either as he collected the ball much like a striker would, then turned and placed a shot in the bottom left which went in off the keeper. Rating: 8.5, Man of the Match

Jack Grealish

The captain also had a good day in The Valley as Grealish picked up two assists on the day. The first coming from the El Ghazi goal, which was replayed at the half, in which Grealish took the ball from a midfield pass dribbled a man out of position and then played a well weighted pass behind him for El Ghazi to finish. Grealish looked to be his regular self as he got fouled numerous times and ran the midfield, although he was dispossessed a couple of times by a tenacious Charlton midfield. Rating: 8

Anwar El Ghazi (Subbed 45’)

El Ghazi made only his second appearance of the preseason against Charlton after having been pulled out of Shrewsbury for a knock he picked up during warm-ups. The Dutch winger hardly looked to be rusty however as he was a handful for defenders due to his tricky dribbling and his ability to run at the defense. El Ghazi also appeared on the score sheet after a tricky finish from a well-played ball in from Grealish. Rating: 7.5

Keinan Davis (Subbed 65’)

Having been handed the start against Charlton due to Wesley’s absence Davis had an opportunity to play more minutes against a higher quality opponent compared to those of previous weeks. Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Davis held up the play well and linked the offense together smoothly. The young center forward was instrumental in the second goal and had the pass just before the assist. Rating: 6.5

Trezeguet (Subbed 45’)

The Egyptian international made his first appearance in a Villa shirt against Charlton and although we didn’t see him long, due to only playing a half and the stream being down, he showed flashes of quality. His first touch, balls played across, and his link up with Elmo were all things that impressed me on the day. Rating: 6

Substitutions RB: Fredric Guilbert (45’), LW: Andre Green (45’), RW: Jota (45’), CM: Henri Lansbury (65’), CB: Kortney Hause (65’), LB: Matt Targett (65’), ST: Scott Hogan (65’), CB: Bjorn Engles (83’)

Fredric Guilbert (45’)

Guilbert looked impressive once coming on. The French full back linked up well with Jota, as he has all preseason, and almost collected a ball forward from Jota to get in on goal. Guilbert also was stout in defense as well as he showed great effort to make a key interception in the 56th minute and then assisting on McGinn’s first goal. Rating: 7

Andre Green (45’)

The academy graduate contributed to the goal sheet yesterday after finishing off a pass from Grealish into the right of the net. The finish was neat, clean, and Green’s only notable contribution to the game. The winger never grabbed a hold on the game and at opportunities, let it pass him by. Rating: 6

Jota (45’)

Jota looked as effective has he as all preseason against Charlton. Linking up with Guilbert well and providing tricky balls in the box for the entire time he was on. A notable moment was in the 60th minute in which Guilbert overlapped with the Spaniard and Jota had the sight and knowledge to hold the dribble, draw in the defense, and then the quality to lay in a great ball to the full back. Rating: 7

Henri Lansbury (65’)

Henri Lansbury has been one of my favorite performers of the preseason. Although his games have not been particularly imposing on the stat sheet, he has been quality. Against Charlton he continued this quiet quality as he played well in the deep midfielder role, brought the attack forward, and had only one bad ball played in my eyes. Rating: 7

Kortney Hause (65’)

Hause came on in the 65th minute for Konsa after the young center half made an error leading to the penalty, meant to be a calming influence at the back I would assume. However, Hause took a bit of time to get into the game and had a few lapses of concentration that led to chances early in his appearance. The former youth international settled into the game and then looked good on the ball and okay when challenged. Rating: 6

Matt Targett (65’)

Targett had some good moments on the day like a tackle in the 68th minute on the sideline and his willingness to go forward as well. However, he also was lacking in defense at times as well as some dodgy defending on his part let a ball come in across the goal line. Rating: 6

Scott Hogan (65’)

Hogan played with a lot of effort against Charlton as he pressed well, made good runs beyond the opposition, and seemed to annoy the Charlton defenders. In the 60th minute he just missed a well-played ball from Matt Targett that would have seen him in on goal and in the 86th minute won a corner off of an opportunity for a goal. Rating 6.5

Bjorn Engles (83’)

Came on late in relief for Tyrone Mings to see the game out. Played a couple nice balls in the back but was not on long enough to provide an impact on the game. Rating: 6