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A feeling of disbelief amongst Villa fans after seeing their side come away from Turf Moor with zero points. A totally comfortable first half was turned on its head, leaving Sean Dyche’s men with a “snatch and grab” result at home against the boys from B6.
Emi Martínez: 7/10
A night where the goalkeeper looked a shadow of his former self. Burnley snuffed out his attempted quick distributions, however, he came and claimed a few difficult balls that the home side lumped in the box. Difficult to place blame for any of their goals; two good headers and a freak attempted cross.
Matty Cash: 7/10
The right back endured a successful first half, spraying the ball about with confidence while looking a threat going forward and remaining solid at the back. However, in the second half, Cash had issues dealing with a rejuvenated Dwight McNeil, with the first two goals coming from crosses down his flank.
Ezri Konsa: 6/10
A quiet evening for the young defender after previous outstanding performances. Burnley’s two strikers really upped the tempo in the second half and the Villa defence struggled to contain them. Conceding from a set piece is always disappointing; a night to forget for Ezri.
Tyrone Mings: 6/10
Like most players this evening, Tyrone had a good first half making sure he did the simple things well; clearing his lines and not attempting any silly little flicks. On the other hand, conceding three goals in the second half, with two being headers, will leave him feeling disappointed.
Matty Targett: 7/10
Got Villa off to a great start with a superb assist for Watkins’ opening goal. From then on, the left back struggled to keep hold of possession and often found himself being doubled up on from a Burnley perspective. He was continually caught out by Burnley’s high swinging crosses into the box, finding himself being out jumped time and time again. On a side note, he will have been proud to make his 50th appearance for the club, with recent results showing promising signs of becoming an influential member of the first team.
John McGinn: 6/10
A disappointing evening for the Scotsman after coming back into the starting line-up from suspension. He failed to live up to his usual high standards, finding himself being shrugged off the ball consistently by Ashley Westwood.
Douglas Luiz: 7/10
The Brazilian was back to his usual defensive responsibilities this evening, breaking up the play well and looking to move the ball forward. In the second half, the midfielder found himself venturing forward on a more regular basis, leaving us exposed to the Burnley counterattack. Douglas does deserve plaudits for assisting on Jack Grealish’s goal though!
Ross Barkley: 5/10
A third consecutive quiet evening for the loanee as his lone effort that hit the bar proved to be his only memorable contribution to the game. He is still on his way back to full fitness, backed by him being brought off for a third consecutive game in which showed he should not be expected to put in the same top draw performances we were used to seeing before his injury. It will come.
Jack Grealish: 9/10
A performance full of forward running, which drove the whole team forward. Using his incredible change of pace and trickery to effortlessly shrug the Burnley defenders off the ball, his fantastic performance was backed with a goal. Jack could have also scored a goal of the season contender after juggling the ball past three defenders whilst running 50 yards before firing his shot directly at Nick Pope. Another top-draw contribution from the skipper.
Bertrand Traoré: 7/10
A frustrating game for the winger. In the first half, he was getting himself into all the right positions, however, just lacked the final finish. The second half was another story with minimal defensive output coming through the winger, whilst he also lacked a cutting edge with his attempts going forward before seeing himself being substituted in the later stages.
Ollie Watkins: 8/10
Another goal for the promising forward. A deft finish into the bottom corner put Villa ahead, with his hold up play allowing the midfield to get a hold of the ball and create numerous dangerous chances. Not much more he could have done coming up against one of the best defences in the league.