GK Guglielmo Vicario
Questions might be asked about his positioning with Morgan Rogers’ goal as it was not the sort of unstoppable shot that flew into the top corner. I think the dip made it difficult to save, however, and credit needs to be given to Rogers. The second goal was another accurate finish, but Vicario seemed flat footed. The bigger question on both is why players stood off. Vicario generally had little to do other than pick the ball out of the net twice. Rating: 6
RB Pedro Porro
Made an indecisive start to the game, taking longer than usual to release the ball. Grew into the game after making an excellent challenge on Malen to stop a break and improved since then. Was a threat going forward, including some excellent through balls for Kudus in the second half. That link up on the right wing was our one attacking strength. Porro is always involved and had another busy game today. Rating: 7
LB Djed Spence
Had a quiet game, which is often a good sign from a defender. More of Villa’s attacks were on the right but, when needed, Spence gave a good performance. Has really improved his positioning this season and while Udogie does offer more going forward, Spence is continuing to show what an important player he is. Is usually strong in one-on-one situations and won several of those but crucially allowed Beundia’s shot away for the winner, albeit not getting a lot of help during that play. Rating: 6
CB Kevin Danso
A late replacement after Christian Romero was injured in the warmup. Gives an aerial presence and showed good strength tracking Malen on an important through ball early. Danso’s long throw is an asset as well. Had a solid game today. Rating: 7
CB Micky van de Ven
Villa played a lot of accurate long balls and van de Ven’s pace enabled him to push up yet also deal with them effectively. Micky was his usual consistent self, rarely puts a foot wrong, and does build attacks well. Will be disappointed that two long shots undone a lot of his good work. Rating: 7
CM João Palhinha
Towering header to set up Bentancur’s goal, heading not just back into a good area but straight into Bentancur’s path. His usual busy self, reading the game, breaking up opposition attacks. Our defensive record is much improved this season for several reasons and Palinha’s ability in protecting the defenders is one of them. Seemed to fade in the last quarter of the game, but another good performance all round. Rating: 7
CM Rodrigo Bentancur
Scored the first goal and would be great if he can add more attacking play to his game. Was tidy after that, reading the game well as he always does. Became a little overrun towards the end. Pape Matar Sarr on for Bentancur was the right call by Frank to bring more energy, but it was a change that should have happened about 20 minutes earlier than it did. Rating: 6
AM Xavi Simons
Started in the number 10 role, which many fans have been calling for. Did well off the ball. Unfortunately, did very little on it. Much more is needed from Xavi. It will come but he looked off the pace today. Rating: 4
RW Mohammed Kudus
Started brightly. Produced a perfect cross which led to Bentancur’s goal. Then had an early goal rightly ruled out for offside, but worth noting still how well he took it. Continued to play well throughout and was the main creative outlet again. A consistently good first touch makes the ball seems to stick to him. A good performance, our best player on the day, and he needs more help from his attacking teammates. Rating: 8
LW Wilson Odobert
More involved than in previous games. Looked more confident running at defenders. As a result, he had more success driving forward. Still did not bring much end product and had started to be marked out of the game by the time he was substituted. Rating: 5
CF Mathys Tel
With 1 minute gone, a ball up to Tel bounced off him and returned possession to Villa. It set the scene for a lack of holdup play all game. Tel’s pressure did lead to a corner, which indirectly brought the opening goal, but he did not get on the end of much after that, including failing to connect with an excellent cross from Kudus at the far post. Rating: 4
Substitutes: Richarlison, Randal Kolo Muani, Brennan Johnson, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr
Another game where Thomas Frank’s substitutes had little impact. Richarlison struggled to get involved despite being on the longest. The other attacking substitutes should have been made earlier. Both Johnson and Muani missed late chances but at least were in the position to get on the end of something. Disappointing overall. Ratings: Richarlison (3), Randal Kolo Muani (4), Brennan Johnson (4), Lucas Bergvall (5), Pape Matar Sarr (5)