Leon Bailey useless, Axel Disasi incredible – Aston Villa ratings v Brentford
Unai Emery will be delighted as Aston Villa held out for a tight 1-0 win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
Ollie Watkins scored the only goal of the game on 8 March, firing under a helpless Mark Flekken, which pushed the Villans up the Premier League table and giving a much-needed boost.
Villa were without star goalkeeper Emi Martinez, with Robin Olsen filling in between the sticks, helping to deny any threat from Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade.
Emery’s side are now just two points behind fourth-place Man City in the Premier League table, rising to seventh with nine games left to play.
Axel Disasi announces himself to Aston Villa supporters
Robin Olsen – 7
Made some sensible saves and soldiered on after appearing to twinge his back in the first half. Would have been a real blow had he gone off, with Emi Martinez also unavailable.
Axel Disasi – 9 – Player of the Match
An incredible defensive performance up against Schade, blocking the pacey winger out completely and making the right-back spot his own.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Solid display alongside his centre-back partner, Mings, but was nowhere near his usual best in the air.
Tyrone Mings – 7
Dominant on the ground and in the air, allowing no nonsense in the centre of defence and helped keep Villa’s first clean sheet in eight league games.
Lucas Digne – 5
Difficult to shine when Disasi was so confident on the opposite flank. Nowhere near as helpful in the final third as usual, with his impact in the final third limited by Brentford.
| Axel Disasi v Brentford | Stat, as per FotMob |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Tackles won | 67% (2/3) |
| Clearances | 5 |
| Duels won (Ground+Aerial) | 8 |
Leon Bailey stinks out Gtech Community Stadium
John McGinn (Off for Boubacar Kamara 61′) – 4
Aston Villa star McGinn, who recently announced his 500th career game, was far from his best against the Bees, picking up a needless yellow card in the first half. Needed replacing considering how he goes into tackles.
Youri Tielemans – 7
Created plenty of opportunities for Villa’s forwards, putting in the dirty work in the middle of the park. Made a vital block in the final 10 minutes, filling in for Villa’s absent midfielder Amadou Onana.
Leon Bailey (Off for Matty Cash 46′) – 2
Offered absolutely nothing in the final third, sending his only real chance from a free-kick straight into the wall, lost too many duels, and was rightly replaced at the half-time break.
Morgan Rogers (Off for Donyell Malen 90+4′) – 5
Extremely unlucky to have his goal chalked off, with Watkins marginally offside in the build-up. Was rather quiet at the Gtech Stadium, particularly compared to his display recently. A bit disappointing.
Jacob Ramsey (Off for Marcus Rashford 68′) – 6
Created chances, had efforts on goal blocked, but in the end, needed replacing by someone with a bit more threat in the final third. Did record the assist for Watkins, though.
Ollie Watkins haunts his former club
Ollie Watkins – 8
Scored the all-important goal to seal all three points away from home. Was rather unlucky to see a second goal denied by VAR and his assist for Rogers chalked off for the same reason.
Substitutes
Matty Cash (On for Bailey 46′) – 3
Came on to replace the struggling Bailey but was just as poor himself. Picked up a yellow card for timewasting and put his team under more pressure.
Boubacar Kamara (On for McGinn 61′) – N/A
Marcus Rashford (On for Ramsey 68′) – 5
Battled well on the left flank, trying to win the ball back in high areas but was relatively ineffective during his 25 minutes on the pitch.
Donyell Malen (On for Rogers 90+4′) – N/A