Europa League Player Ratings and Match Highlights

Aston Villa defeated Young Boys 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.

In the 27th minute, Aston Villa opened the scoring, and it was well deserved as they completely dominated the opening exchanges of the match. Villa’s goal came from what they had been doing so well for the entirety of the match up to this point. They were confidently playing the ball around in the midfield, and the ball eventually came to Youri Tielemans, who put a brilliant cross into the box to Donyell Malen, and the Dutchman rose high to head the ball into the back of the net. Although Malen got quite a lot of power on his header, the Young Boys goalkeeper, Marvin Keller, probably could’ve done better, as he got a very strong hand to it, but still couldn’t keep it out.

Villa doubled their lead just before half-time, and it was Malen with yet another goal. Once again, it was a very well-worked goal by the hosts, but Morgan Rogers in particular was excellent. The England star was fed the ball just inside his own half, and he burst forward, then eventually played Malen through, who produced some fine footwork before firing his shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0 to Villa.

In terms of on-field action, Malen’s second goal was the last action of the first half, but immediately after his goal, chaos erupted in the away end, as Young Boys’ fans were fighting among each other, and there was a heavy police presence.

In the 53rd minute, Malen had the ball in the back of the net yet again, but it was ruled out, as the man who squared him the ball, Rogers, was well offside in the build-up.

Although Villa looked in full control of the match and were producing some really good chances, in the 70th minute, the visitors managed to put the ball in the back of the net, but it was disallowed due to Alan Virginius, who fed in Chris Bedia, being offside. This moment probably came as a big wake-up call to the Villa players, as although they were producing the chances to see the match off, they were being incredibly wasteful in front of goal.

Villa didn’t take Young Boys’ disallowed goal as a wake-up call, as in the 90th minute, the Swiss side had the ball in the back of the net again, but this time it stood. Gregory Wuthrich played a superb ball over the top of the Villa defence to Joel Monteiro, who brought it down very well and fired a powerful and clinical finish past Emiliano Martinez to give his side late hopes of a comeback.

Monteiro’s strike was the last action of the match, and Villa saw the match out to take all three points in a 2-1 victory.

Match Highlights

To follow soon…

Aston Villa Player Ratings

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GK: Emiliano Martinez – 6/10

Had a pretty quiet evening in goal. Martinez faced just one shot during the match, and that was Young Boys’ goal.

RB: Lamare Bogarde – 6.5/10

Defensively very solid, but didn’t really do much in the final third. The Dutchman did very well when coming into the midfield, but clearly looked uncomfortable in the full-back position.

CB: Victor Nilsson Lindelof – 6.5/10

Very good with the ball at his feet, but did look shaky at times, especially in the second half, despite Young Boys not producing that many clear-cut chances.

CB: Pau Torres – 7.5/10

Good when playing the ball out from the back and didn’t really have anything significant to do defensively, as Young Boys hardly offered anything going forward.

LB: Ian Maatsen – 6/10

Never really put a foot wrong during the match, but especially in the second half, both in the final third and defensively, Maatsen looked quite laid back, which negatively affected his performance.

CM: Amadou Onana – 8/10

A real powerhouse in the middle of the park. The big Belgian put in a very well-rounded performance, being solid as a rock in the midfield, but also very tidy in possession and in the final third at times.

CM: Youri Tielemans – 8/10

Provided a very good assist for Malen’s opening goal and managed to control the midfield for the majority of his time on the pitch.

AM: Morgan Rogers – 8.5/10

Looked like a real threat every single time he had the ball at his feet. The England star played a huge part in Malen’s second goal and created plenty of other chances for his teammates.

RW: Evann Guessand – 5.5/10

Rarely given the ball in the final third despite Villa dominating possession. Guessand wasn’t necessarily bad, he just wasn’t given the ball enough to make things happen regularly.

ST: Donyell Malen – 9/10 (Man of the Match)

Led the line brilliantly for Villa and came up with two very good and important goals. As well as scoring a brace, Malen’s all-round game was excellent, and he was a real nuisance for the Young Boys’ defence to deal with.

LW: Jadon Sancho – 5/10

A night to forget for Sancho despite being on the winning side. The Englishman was dealt with quite easily by the Young Boys defenders, and even when he was given time on the ball, he still struggled to create for his teammates and finish the chances he found himself on the end of.

SUB: Ross Barkley – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Emiliano Buendia – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Ezri Konsa – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Ollie Watkins – 6/10

Was very effective after coming on, but couldn’t take the chances which fell his way.

SUB: Boubacar Kamara – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

Young Boys Player Ratings

GK: Marvin Keller – 6/10

Didn’t really have much to do during the match outside of a few routine saves. The Swiss goalkeeper probably could’ve done a lot better to keep out Malen’s opening goal as he got a strong hand to it.

RWB: Saidy Janko – 6.5/10

Didn’t really offer anything going forward, but put in a solid showing defensively up against Sancho.

CB: Tanguy Zoukrou – 6.5/10

Produced some important defensive actions and didn’t put a foot wrong with the ball at his feet.

CB: Sandro Lauper – 6/10

Struggled to deal with Malen whilst he was on the pitch, but managed to redeem himself by producing some important blocks and clearances to keep the scoreline down.

CB: Loris Benito – 7/10

Good when playing the ball out from the back, and defended really well and aggressively.

LWB: Jaouen Hadjam – 7/10

Solid as a rock defensively up against Guessand and also had some bright moments in the final third, threatening with his pace and directness.

CM: Rayan Raveloson – 6.5/10

Worked hard and pressed well in the midfield, but didn’t have much to do with the ball at his feet.

CM: Dominik Pech – 6.5/10

Like his midfield partner, Raveloson, Pech also worked very hard in the midfield, but didn’t have much to do with the ball at his feet.

RW: Darian Males – 6/10

Tried his best to make things happen on the right wing, but just didn’t have enough of a threat in front of goal.

ST: Sergio Cordova – 6/10

Held the ball up well at times, but for the most part was dealt with quite easily by the Villa defenders and rarely got into the match.

LW: Christian Fassnacht – 6/10

Like his wing counterpart, Males, Fassnacht also struggled to make things happen offensively, but defensively, he helped out a lot, especially in the pressing department.

SUB: Alan Virginius – 6.5/10

Immediately improved Young Boys in the final third with his pace and energy, and was unfortunate to not have an assist to his name, as Bedia’s goal was ruled out.

SUB: Alvyn Sanches – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Joel Monteiro – 8/10

A real livewire off the bench. Monteiro scored a fantastic goal to give his side late hopes of a comeback, but his overall play was also very good.

SUB: Chris Bedia – 6/10

Touched the ball just five times after coming on, but was unfortunate to have his goal ruled out due to an offside call.

SUB: Gregory Wuthrich – 7/10

Provided a fantastic assist for Monteiro’s goal.

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