Player Ratings: Everton 0-1 Aston Villa - Buendia’s header fires Villa up to 10th!

Emi Martinez: 7/10

A very quiet day between the sticks for Aston Villa’s number one, having to only make a single save to keep the cleansheet intact for his side.

Matty Cash: 7/10

The right-back actively looked to get forward when Villa were pressing forward and did well to deal with the likes of Demerai Gray on a number of occasions.

Ezri Konsa: 7/10

Made key challenges when called upon, but struggled to deal with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison on a few occasions when the two forwards swapped sides of the pitch. Hard to really fault a center-back who kept a cleansheet on the day as well.

Tyrone Mings: 7/10

Not the Villa captain’s strongest performance by any means, but was able to make a number of key tackles when called upon.

Lucas Digne: 7.5/10

The former Everton man didn’t let his nerves get to him on his return to Goodison Park and ended the first half strongly by delivering an excellent cross, which Emi Buendia converted with conviction.

John McGinn: 7/10

Put in a number of well timed, physical challenges — taking the sting out of a number of Everton’s counter-attacks. Great to see McGinn back in the starting eleven after missing out on last weekend’s match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Douglas Luiz: 7/10

A solid outing acting as Villa’s defensive midfielder on the day and came out on top in a number of key duels in the away sides half.

Jacob Ramsey: 6.5/10

Faded in and out of the game at times, but stuck to his responsibilities and was able to drive his side forward on a number of occasions as well.

Emi Buendia: 8/10

The little magician was, once again, the key cog for this Villa side at Goodison Park and ended the first half by heading home Lucas Digne’s cross. Was replaced in the closing minutes of the game by Kortney Hause.

Philippe Coutinho: 6/10

A tame outing from the Brazilian playmaker, who showed bits and pieces of some tidy movement and passing, but was eventually replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka in the 74th minute.

Ollie Watkins: 6.5/10

Made tireless runs when needed and was strong in his defensive duties as well. Had a great opportunity to put Villa into an early lead in the first half, but failed to convert and was eventually replaced by Danny Ings in the 79th minute.

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SUBSTITUTES:

Carney Chukwuemeka (74 mins): N/A

Replaced Philippe Coutinho.

Danny Ings (79 mins): N/A

Replaced Ollie Watkins.

Kortney Hause (90 + 1 mins): N/A

Replaced Emi Buendia.

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MAN OF THE MATCH: Emi Buendia

Once again, Emi Buendia gets better and better in every game as of late! His desire to drive Villa forward and create scoring chances is a breath of fresh air, with this particular performance adding even more confidence to his game.

Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images