Ollie Watkins stunning, Marco Asensio disastrous: Aston Villa ratings vs Southampton
Aston Villa gave their quest for European football another boost with a 3-0 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s.
Although Unai Emery’s side enjoyed the vast majority of possession and territory, they struggled to pose a threat to Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in a goalless first half.
With Aston Villa continuing to press after the break, they were denied an opener when Marco Asensio had a penalty saved by Ramsdale, only for Ollie Watkins to fire them in front just moments later.
Donyell Malen doubled the lead with just over ten minutes of normal time remaining, before John McGinn made it 3-0 on the rebound in stoppage time after Asensio has another penalty saved.
That was enough to secure a comfortable win for Emery’s side that moves them in to the fifth and final Champions League qualification spot in the Premier League table as things stand.
| Aston Villa last five games | Result |
| Preston North End (A) | Won 3-0 |
| Brighton (A) | Won 3-0 |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | Won 2-1 |
| PSG (A) | Lost 3-1 |
| Southampton (A) | Won 3-0 |
Here is how Football Insider rated the performances of those Aston Villa players during that clash with Southampton.
Aston Villa defence largely untested
Emiliano Martinez – 6
Made one decent save early on but the goalkeeper otherwise had little to do.
Matty Cash – (off for Garcia, ’86) – 6
Aston Villa are apparently consider signing a right-back amid concerns over Cash, but this was a fairly solid performance from the Poland international.
Ezri Konsa – 6
A relatively easy afternoon in the centre of defence for the England international with little to deal with.
Tyrone Mings – 7
Shut down one or two threats early on but otherwise an easy afternoon for the Aston Villa centre-back.
Ian Maatsen – 6
Looked to get forward early on but this was mostly a quiet afternoon for the left-back.
Amadou Onana (off for Kamara, ’89) – 6
Onana is enjoying a run in the Aston Villa side after injury, and delivered a steady performance in the centre of the park.
Youri Tielemans – 7
Pulled plenty of strings in midfield and produced an incredible pass over the top to set Watkins up to open the scoring.
Morgan Rogers – (off for McGinn, ’86) – 7
Aston Villa are understood to be confident of keeping Rogers this summer and after a slow start he showed his worth with a good through ball to set up Malen to make it 2-0.
Marco Asensio – 3
Not his day. Asensio was named Aston Villa Player of the Month for March, but the PSG loanee was quiet for much of the match, and saw two penalties saved to add to his frustrations, with neither spot kick likely to please him.
Jacob Ramsey (off for Malen, ’66) – 7
Looked lively with some decent passes and found some good pockets of space but like many early on struggled for a breakthrough.
Marcus Rashford (off for Watkins, ’66) – 6
Made some decent runs but the Man United loanee found himself lacking an end product this time around.
Unai Emery substitutions make the difference
Substitutes
Ollie Watkins (on for Rashford, ’66) – 8
Made an instant impact by winning the penalty that Asensio missed just moments after coming on, but the striker made no mistake himself with an excellent flicked finish to make it 1-0 not long after.
Donyell Malen (on for Ramsey, ’66) – 7
Came off the bench to score his third goal in as many appearances with a nice finish from a tight angle.
Andres Garcia (on for Cash, ’86) – 5
A late outing for the Spaniard as Southampton briefly applied some late pressure.
John McGinn (on for Rogers, ’86) – 7
Off the bench and won the late penalty that gave Asensio the chance to make amends, before finishing on the rebound after that penalty was also saved.
Boubacar Kamara (on for Onana, ’89) – 6
Off the bench for the final few minutes with the game already won.