Ollie Watkins terrible, Ezri Konsa shines – Aston Villa ratings v Crystal Palace
Ollie Watkins endured a miserable performance for Aston Villa as they crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace.
Following a tense opening to proceedings, a wonder-strike from Eberechi Eze gave the Eagles the lead.
Going into the second half, Villa began to find their feet and created some nice chances, but a defensive mistake from Youri Tielemans allowed Ismaila Sarr to score with a speculative effort from 25 yards out.
With the Villains chasing a lead that was escaping them, the Senegalese winger won the ball back high up the pitch and made Unai Emery’s side pay, scoring his second and Palace’s third for a 3-0 win.
The result ends Villa’s hopes of reaching a first FA Cup final since 2015, and all attention now shifts to the race for Champions League football.
Aston Villa FA Cup dream over at the hands of Crystal Palace
Emi Martinez – 6
Two unstoppable efforts from Eze and Sarr left the Argentine shot-stopper with no chance, otherwise decent for the Villains.
Matty Cash – 5
For as good as he has been for Villa in recent years, the Polish international has been less than impressive this season and it was the same story against the Eagles.
Ezri Konsa – 7 – Player of the Match
Composed performance as he was somewhere near his proper level when all around him wasn’t. The England international is a smooth operator, and his passing range makes him a danger from the back.
Pau Torres looked lost for Aston Villa
Pau Torres – 3
Complete mess. The Spaniard gave away the ball for Eze’s opener and consistently found himself out of position.
Lucas Digne (off for Maatsen 59′) – 4
Ineffective offensively. Digne can be a better defender than he appears, but where he really shines is as a marauding left-back, whipping crosses into the box. None of that was on show against Palace.
Boubacar Kamara (off for Ross Barkley 69′) – 5
Aston Villa are trying to tie Kamara down to a new contract. The Frenchman is usually such an assured presence in the middle of the park, but against the Eagles he looked off the pace.
Youri Tielemans – 3
The Belgian is usually the linchpin of Emery’s side, making magic happen from the centre of the park. Gifted the ball to Palace for their second goal and misplaced several more passes.
Morgan Rogers – 4
Man City are weighing up a move for Rogers, having let the England international leave in 2023. If they do re-sign him, Guardiola would be well advised to play him behind the striker, rather than at right-wing, where he remains an inactive participant when used there.
Marco Asensio with another miserable Aston Villa performance
Marco Asensio – 4
Is the magic gone? It certainly feels so. After missing a crucial chance against parent club PSG in the second leg to level the scores, Asensio also missed two spot-kicks against Southampton. Invisible before being replaced in the 69th minute.
John McGinn – 4
A surprise performer for Villa at left-wing in their second-leg win over PSG, despite going out on aggregate. However, Palace seemed savvy to what the Scotland international wanted to do, and he was quickly replaced after half-time.
Ollie Watkins – 2
Invisible. 18 touches in 97 minutes of football. Justified Unai Emery’s decision to use Marcus Rashford over him in recent key fixtures, and the Man United loanee likely would have started had he not been cup-tied.
Substitutes
Ian Maatsen (on for Digne 59′) – 4
Just as ineffective going forward as the man he replaced.
Leon Bailey (on for McGinn 59′) – 6
Whilst there was little by way of end product in his game, the Jamaican at least added some energy to Villa’s build-up play.
Ross Barkley (on for Kamara 69′) – 5
Had some nice touches but the game largely passed him by.
Jacob Ramsey (on for Asensio 69′) – 5
The usually super substitute found it difficult to get into the game after coming off the bench.
Donyell Malen (on for Rogers 79′) – 5
Direct in his attacking play, but the rest of the squad around him had lost motivation by the time he was introduced.