The morning after: Mistakes cost Villa against Bournemouth

Two games in, two losses, negatives and positives - the wait for Villa’s first Premier League win in years continues.

Two early mistakes cost Villa in big style - a penalty giveaway by Tom Heaton and a shadow-pass to a gulf by Douglas Luiz allowed both Josh King and Harry Wilson to strike. Douglas Luiz was able to get off the mark for Villa in style, but unfortunately the battle had already been won.

Villans will dwell on the mistakes and the ‘what-if’ - but also the realism of the match. Villa looked promising, Bournemouth’s Phillip Billing should have earned a red card. The match just drifted too far away for any realistic fight-back.

2-1. We will move on - but for now, here’s everything that you need to read and watch about Villa vs Bournemouth:

Morning Reading

• One Moment - Douglas Luiz gets off the mark for Villa
• Post-match thoughts - ‘Smith is still trying to find the best way to play’
• Man of the Match - Our young writer chose Tyrone Mings as the MotM against Bournemouth

Match Reports

• 7500 to Holte - ‘Hosts are undone by two early mistakes at Villa Park.’
• Cherry Chimes - ‘The Cherries were given a dream start’
• Under a Gaslit Lamp - ‘Two early mistakes from Aston Villa ensured that, despite a fairly impressive display, they came away with no points against AFC Bournemouth.’
• The Guardian - ‘Harry Wilson goal edges Bournemouth past Aston Villa after early blitz’
• BBC Sport - ‘Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said his side were taught a “harsh lesson”’

In Other News..

• Burnley Manager Sean Dyche believes that the Premier League rules ‘allow for cheating’
• Bury FC face collapse - spare a thought for the generations of history lost to greed
• Here’s a round-up of all the EFL action that you’re missing now Villa are in the PL

The Numbers

(SOURCE: BBC SPORT)

The Manager’s Thoughts

For Dean Smith, Villa had the share of the ball, fought back well and created chances - but still didn’t do enough for a win. He’s happy with the performance, but disappointed to gain nothing from it - due to early mistakes.

Your Thoughts

It was a difficult loss to swallow for Villa, but it is certainly time to keep the faith and back the boys:

Villa Park enjoyed a small makeover this Summer - and it looks better than ever. Despite the results, it is good to be back home!

Read more blogs - Villa aren’t getting the analysis they deserve:

Fan Cams

Dan Rolinson, Dan Bardell and The Villa View are back at it again to showcase the thoughts and voice of the Villa faithful:

The Experience

Villa on Tour showcase the Villa fanbase to the world each and every AVFC game. Here’s Max and the crew back at Villa Park:

Highlights

Get them while they’re hot.

xG

Expected goals can tell us a fair bit about a match. Here’s an explainer. In the long term we can judge how well a team is doing in front of goal. On a match-by-match basis, we can simply judge chances, and how well they are taken,

When the chips were down, Villa created a brilliant fight-back - but the finishing must be so much better.

The Match

Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Goalscorers: Josh King and Harry Wilson scored while Douglas Luiz dragged one back for Villa.

Big winners: Douglas Luiz bounced back here after an early mistake and looked quality as the match went on. Tyrone Mings and Björn Engels couldn’t look any better and Trezeguet is going from strength to strength.

Big ‘losers’: They didn’t perform too badly, but one of the full-backs will be dropped soon. Anwar El Ghazi is also up for the bench. Jack Grealish will rue his miss, but his stock shouldn’t be dropping. Tom Heaton showed that even he is mortal too, with an early mistake.

Best moment: Luiz’s goal - by far - was the main highlight. Villa came close to having a few, but close doesn’t cut it in the Premier League.

The Table

Nothing to worry about - yet. Onto Everton, can Villa grab their first point, or points, of the season?

UTV