Villa vs Bournemouth man of the match: Tyrone Mings

[Editor’s Note] Every match, Liam - our young writer - selects a ‘man of the match’ - win, lose or draw. Today, Tyrone gets the nod. Thanks Liam!

It was a frustrating afternoon for Aston Villa as two early goals from Josh King and Harry Wilson helped secure Bournemouth all three points at Villa Park. Douglas Luiz’s exquisite finish in the 71st minute proved to only be a consolation goal as Eddie Howe’s side remain unbeaten after the first two games of the season whilst Dean Smith’s side suffer their second consecutive defeat.

The Premier League has been proven to be a harsh league on many occasions in the past and its ruthless and unforgiving nature was demonstrated once again today with Bournemouth’s clinicity in the first 15 minutes proving to be decisive in the outcome of the game. Although Dean Smith’s side didn’t play to their full potential and were often complacent and disorganised, there was one man in Aston Villa’s defence who proved once again that the £26 million fee that the club paid for him was a bargain and that man was Tyrone Mings.

The former Bournemouth defender was excellent for the majority of the game with his athleticism, awareness, ball-playing abilities and physicality being consistently displayed throughout the match. His leadership skills were also portrayed in a positive light as he continued to command Villa’s own half throughout the game and on many occasions stopped the Cherries from potentially scoring.

It was bad day at the office for Aston Villa as many of the players failed to make a good impression during their first home fixture of the season as Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi were all substandard. New signings Wesley, Mahmoud Trezeguet and Björn Engels proved that they need more game time in order to fully adjust to the Premier League despite plenty of bright spells. With a total of 12 players bought in the tummer Transfer window, it is going to take the squad time to gel and to grow accustomed to one another in order for a high-placed finish to materialise come the end of the season. Hopefully Dean Smith will address the negatives of today and that the performance will significantly improve against Everton next Friday.

Keep the faith and up the Villa!