Aston Villa vs Ipswich Town match ratings: Villa go full Villa and draw against 10-men

It’s so frustrating seeing this thing happen time after time. Aston Villa are a better side on paper and even in the performance, but we do not want to make it easy for ourselves, and even against 10-men, cannot find the break-through. I obviously try to look for bright spots as well in these ratings, but so many places look so mediocre, everything begins to blend. A few bright spots, and we ‘deserved’ all three points, but we didn’t get them. And that’s what matters in the end.

Starting XI:

Ørjan Nyland—(4)— Just like his first rating for me, it may be harsh all-in-all for Nyland. but, what it comes down to is that his mistake in No-Man’s-Land left the goal wide open for Ipswich’s equalizer. Definitely more confident commanding the box and with his kicks, but once again no official saves for Nyland. Would like to see this keeper problem sorted for the rest of the season, for sure

Axel Tuanzebe—Subbed off for Green 63’—(7)— Nothing standing out today from the Manchester United man, good or bad. The only thing to note is that he’s definitely more comfortable just defending as a CB, and not having to worry about his attacking duties that are given to him as the RB. Just get Jedinak out of there and put Axel where he’s best.

James Chester—(8)— Nothing bad to note from the skipper today, I guess we can be mad at him for not scoring a header? Maybe? Kidding, but he’s still starting to look even more and more solid with every week, but he just needs a pairing like he had with JT. Not asking for the quality (well...) but just consistency. Going with Mile is hopefully not the long-term plan, so pair Chester with Tuanzebe, or even Tommy Elphick if I’m being honest. Overall solid from Chester, but didn’t have to do too much today.

Mile Jedinak—(5)—A little bit better this time around for the Aussie, but it’s just not the best option we have to pair with Chester, as I just ranted about. He cleared a few headers and went in for some challenges today, but it’s just off. No errant pass causing a goal this time, so it’s a better look for sure, but if he’s gonna play, he needs to be a rotation defensive-mid.

Alan Hutton—(7)—Once again, a solid outing from Hutton, even on the left side. He looks a bit frantic when on the ball, but seems to do it well? Sending in crosses and passes to the middle of the field, and then going in hard on the defensive side, he seems to be a lock week in, week out.

Ahmed Elmohamady—(6)—I’ll use my same rant again for Elmo. He is so much better as a full-back, rather than a winger. His pace slows the attack down and doesn’t give us much danger in the attacking third when we go quickly. Defensively out right, there’s not much to complain about with his crossing ability, but I hope this game was really a wake up call for Bruce to drop Elmo from the wing, push Tuanzebe to the middle, and take Mile out of that center of our defense. Meh from Elmo overall today.

Albert Adomah—Subbed off for RHM 78’—(7)—Gives us good width in our attack still, which really lets Grealish and McGinn keep shining, and sends some decent crosses in. Not really sure if there’s much he did that Andre Green couldn’t do, but I’d like to see the pairing of them two on the wings, instead of Elmo

Birkir Bjarnason—Subbed off for Hourihane 64’—(5)— Did not like what I saw today from the Icelandic. Lackluster and rarely finding the ball, with only five clearances and two fouls against him, there should be more in the middle of the pitch. Whether that be Hourihane, McGinn and Grealish all starting, or Whelan/Jedi rotating in that CDM spot, I don’t think BB gives us what we want, at least in that defensive mid role. Especially against 10-men, subbing Hourihane on was the right move.

John McGinn—(8)—Solid follow up to a great debut for McGinn, as he’s really showing what he’s made of. Another assist off another cross, I think he had seven total attempted crosses this game, which is absurd. A slick ball into the box following a corner led to Kodjia’s flick to open the scoring. Those crosses look like a lethal weapon coming off his left foot, I’m sure he’s gonna be a big provider for us this season. Fantastic work rate to win the ball back and end Ipswich attacks, too.

Jack Grealish—(8)— My heart skips a beat every time he gets hacked. He just cannot be stopped, whether he is skipping past players, playing good passes, or getting fouled in the end, he doesn’t seem to do much wrong when it comes to starting Villa attacks. The only thing where we need more from Super Jack is in/around the box. The one criricism of him last season was his unproven track record when it comes to goals/assists. Definitely need more out of him in that area if he really wants to help us get up, but we can’t ask for much more from him, tbh.

Jonathan Kodjia—(8)—Well done from Kodjia today, getting a nice goal to break the seal, hopefully. Still looks super frustrated and letting his temper get the better of him sometimes, but unfairly called for some good, physical battles up top, more to come from Jimmy Danger, that’s for damn sure.

Subs:

Andre Green—On for Tuanzebe 63’—(7)— Another bright performance from this guy, showing some good attacking moments, tossing some crosses into the box and some shots at the net, I really want to see him get the start over Elmo, pairing Andre with Uncle Al on the wings with Kodjia up top.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy—On for Adomah in 78’—(7)—Definitely showing that he’s a good option to come off the bench and bring life to a game. He’s got the pace and the brain to get him into good spots, now just needs to relax and find that quality to bring him to the first-team level. Bright spot for the future, and off the bench now, without a doubt

Conor Hourihane—On for Bjarnason in 64’—(7)—Decent run for a decent chunk of time for Conor, and it was a sub that needed to be made, like I said with BB not having the best of days, Hourihane gave us some more oomph to our attack. He and McGinn being paired for box to box midfielders could be a risk, but the reward could be great with them providing to Grealish to start the attacks.

(I know, 7’s across the board for the subs, so boring)

These are the games that the one point not being three could come back to bite us in the you know what. A simple bit of wandering from our goalkeeper and not enough to take the lead again led to a tie at a side who celebrated it like a win. I’m hoping this was a bit of a wake-up call for where we should be with our side, versus where we actually are, but who knows anything about what’s going to happen anymore. Wednesday versus Brentford and Saturday versus Reading, hopefully we get six points! UTV