Steven Gerrard makes it 2 wins out of 2 and becomes only the second Villa manager to win his opening two Premier League games since John Gregory in 1998.
Matt Targett fired home the opener from an Ashley Young corner on 15 minutes. Ashley Young became the club’s top assist provider in Premier League history – 42 in total.
John McGinn majestically curled home a wonderfully worked team goal to seal the 3 points. Marc Guehi struck a late consolation goal in injury time denying Martinez a clean sheet on his 50th appearance for the club.
STARTING LINE-UP
Formation 4-3-3
Emi Martinez – 7
50th appearance in Claret and Blue for Emi Martinez; what a signing!
Minimal work for Martinez in the first half, claiming a couple of crosses and remained alert throughout.
Surprisingly fumbled an Olise corner which went unpunished, held well from a Benteke overhead kick and an Edouard effort.
Matty Cash – 7.5
My Player Of The Season so far – Mr Consistent.
Dealt well with the lively Zaha, although both were booked following a clash on the half-hour mark.
My heart was in my mouth when his clearance inside the area struck Konsa; fortunately bouncing wide!
Ezri Konsa – 7
Decent headed attempt in the first half from an Ashley Young free-kick. Tidy performance against the in-form Beneteke.
Guehi reacted quicker inside the area to score a consolation goal for Palace in the 95th minute, ruining my clean sheet fantasy points for Martinez and Cash!
Tyrone Mings – 8.5
Mings backed up his Brighton performance with another superb showing. Clearly displaying his Captaincy credentials to the new manager!
ASTON BREWING CO.
Aston Villa 3rd Edition beer mats are out now! Get yours here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AstonBrewingCo
Matt Targett – 7.5
Scored the opener from a well-worked corner set-piece, excellent touch and finish!
Targett has rediscovered his confidence in Gerrard’s first two games, plus looks comfortable in the role he’s being asked to play.
Marvelous Nakamba – 9 MOTM
The Zimbabwean will be the first name on the team sheet against Manchester City; he has made himself undroppable!
Outstanding performance, stifled Palace’s attacks and his distribution was top-class! Booked.
John McGinn – 8.5
McGinn went so close with a curling effort in the first half, flashing just wide of Vicente Guaita post.
Made no mistake with his second effort, finishing off a superb team move with a peach of a finish!
Jacob Ramsey – 7.5
Another accomplished energetic performance from the youngster carried the ball well and looked comfortable in possession.
Want more UTV PODCAST propaganda?
Join our Facebook group for instant notifications of all the website and podcast releases.
Ashley Young – 8.5
What a performance from Ashley Young! Grabbed his second assist in as many games; his corner kick finding it’s way to Targett who finished expertly.
Clipped the crossbar with a free-kick effort early in the second half. His game management and experience was key throughout. Replaced late on by Buendia.
Leon Bailey – 6
Recalled to starting line-up and got some valuable minutes in the bank. His touch eluded him on more than one occasion today and was very rash in some of his play.
Received no protection from the referee as the challenges piled in. Will improve with more minutes.
Ollie Watkins – 6.5
Ok performance from Watkins, he looked much better leading the line centrally.
Numerous claims for a penalty were waved off by the referee; to be fair they looked quite soft, but if they were outside the area the foul would of more than likely been given!
Substitutions
Douglas Luiz, on for Ramsey (66th minute) 6: Received a straight red card for a foul on Kouyate; rightly overturned and downgraded to a yellow.
Anwar El Ghazi, on for Bailey (77th minute) 6: Assist for McGinn’s goal, and has been impressive coming off the bench in the last 2 games.
Emi Buendia, on for Young (85th minute) 6: Excellent reverse pass in the build-up to McGinn’s goal.
Subs not used: Jed Steer, Morgan Sanson, Axel Tuanzebe, Danny Ings, Kortney Hause, Carney Chukwuemeka.
Goals
Crystal Palace: Guehi (90+5)
Aston Villa: Targett (15), McGinn (85)
Officials: Michael Salisbury (referee); Paul Tierney (VAR)
Opposition
Crystal Palace: Vicente Guaita; Joel Ward, James Tomkins, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mitchell; Luke Miliviojevic (Eberechi Eze, 60), Cheikhou Kouyate, Conor Gallagher; Wilfried Zaha (Odsonne Edouard, 72), Christian Benteke, Michael Olise.
Subs not used: Jack Butland, Jordan Ayew, Will Hughes, Jeffrey Schlupp, Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Kelly, Jairo Riedewald.
PLAYER REACTION
THE BOSS
GOALS
UP NEXT
Manchester City | Villa Park | 20.15 | Wednesday 1st December
UTV PODCAST | LATEST NEWS
Check out the latest news from the UTV Podcast camp.
Remember, this is a channel built by fans for the fans. It’s a platform for anyone to come on and have their say – if it’s joining us on a Fan Reaction show or getting involved in our written work like Fan Reports, Fan Stories, Player Focus and the popular Player Ratings or have your question answered on our Preview shows – it is open to all.
It’s a super chilled platform, so drop us a message or use our contact page.
SPONSER UTVPODCAST
Interested in sponsoring UTV Podcast? Email us at upthevillapodcast@gmail.com
In association with #HerGameToo
#Hergame Too is a campaign set up to raise awareness for the sexism that is prevalent in football, as well as supporting, empowering, and creating opportunities for females involved in the game. The #HerGameToo team are made up of twelve football fans that represent an array of teams across the country, including some that work in the industry who have experienced some sexism in their everyday work. They actively encourage people to speak out about their experiences, whether it be to #HerGameToo, friends or family, or the football clubs involved. We must acknowledge that football has come a long way from the issues that existed historically, however there is still a long way to go.
#HerGameToo are doing great work on understanding and removing misogyny in the men’s game, and are continuing to develop their campaign to make it the most inclusive and accessible it can be. Elevating hard-hitting stories, data and new voices is helping to spread their message loud and clear.
If you would like to show your support for #HerGameToo, you can help by calling out any misogynistic comments you hear or see and give them a follow on any of their socials.
W: http://hergametoo.co.uk T: @HerGameToo I: @HerGameToo F: @HerGameToo
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook and Twitter readers, click the respective icon below to follow our utvpodcast social media accounts.
Subscribe to utvpodcast.co.uk to receive instant notifications on all podcast and blog releases.
UTV PODCAST | YOUTUBE
Help us grow and subscribe for free to our YouTube channel.
UTVPODCAST | SPOTIFY
Subscribe for free on Spotify
UTV PODCAST | MERCH
NEW | TikTok
HELLO TIKTOK!! Bit of fun! Drop us a follow…
One Response
Comments are closed.