Brighton 0–3 Aston Villa Player Ratings: Morgan Roger’s Presence of Mind Helps Aston Villa Earn a Comfortable Victory Away from Home
Brighton take on Aston Villa at the elegant American Express Stadium after the FA Cup quarter-finals for the 30th matchday of the Premier League. Each side enter the field with contrasting moods with the home side coming with a sense of disappointment from their quarterfinal loss against Nottingham Forest after a hard fought match and the visitors come to play with their heads up after a dominating display of character to secure a 3-0 victory booking their tickets for the semi finals.
Both sides field themselves in a 4-2-3-1 setup hinting that either of the side focused on having a strong defensive foundation. A win for both the teams would mean a lot as Brighton can go as high as 4th position and Aston Villa can reach upto 6th position. So there was a lot in stakes for both sides while coming onto the field.
The game began with the touch of Aston Villa and the game continued to be monotonous for the first minutes. Though some attempts to attack were made by both teams, the defence triumphed in each situation. There were instances where the defence was under some intense pressure, such as in the 12th minute when Marcus Rashford made a lovely move, confusing all the defenders. However the finishing failed as he shot the ball way off the target. This made him frustrated but the frustration fueled him to do better in the second half.
It was noticed that the Aston Villa players were slippery in controlling the ball and keeping possession for a long time, which was exactly what the Brighton players exploited. They intensified their pressing and won the ball multiple times from the midfield and even in the attacking third. But Villa somehow managed to keep things under control and minimise the damage. However, this was only a problem when they kept possession of their ball. To tackle this, Villa made a quick counterattack that prevented Brighton from going onto an offensive strategy and maintaining a high backline.
The game continued to be dull without many chances created by both teams, except a multiple instances which kept the spectators on the tip of their seats, where both teams did their best of their ability to win a penalty for them. But the referee stood firm with his decisions, not providing either team a loophole to score their first. And in the first half, after the defensive and midfield domination, the score remained 1-1.
The second half began with the same tone, and in this half, the only thing that changed was that in this half, instead of Brighton pressing, it was Villa who took the initiative to press and score the opener. However this strategy backfired ad their excessive attacking mentality made them forget about their defence, which lead to them leaving some very big gaps that led to Aston Villa scoring three goals from quick counter attacks with the services of Rashford, Asensio and Malen and at full time Villa had a comfortable back to back 3-0 victory away from home.
Here are the Brighton vs Aston Villa Player Ratings.
Brighton Player Ratings
GK – Bart Verbruggen – 6/10
Was subject to some pressure as he slipped an easy ball that came to him however recovered the ball properly after the slip. After that incident he did not have much of a role to make in the first half other than making some simple clearances.
LB – Pervis Estupiñán – 6/10
As usual was seen everywhere in the left wing, making crosses from the attacking third and shadowing the wingers in the defensive third along with making some notable interceptions in the midfield. Had an all-round duty covering the whole flank. However, when it came to his role as a left back, due to the shattered defence line, he had a very minimal role to control the opponents’ scoring.
CB – Lewis Dunk – 5.5/10
Had a terrible day in the office by leaving a lot of gaps between his fellow players. Lacked communication and coordination, and failed at marking players properly.
CB – Jan Paul van Hecke – 6/10
Came in and took a nice header for a corner kick, which went straight into the hands of the keeper. However, this turned into a huge mistake as there was nobody to mark Rashford during the counter-attack, which led to the first goal of the match.
RB – Jack Hinshelwood – 6/10
Was seen making very aggressive fouls from the very beginning which led to his booking at just the 20th minute. He also made a debatable challenge on Ramsey which could have led to him conceding a penalty and getting a second booking. Was not making any impact rather than making some challenges and putting his own team into trouble.
CM – Yasin Ayari – 7/10
Won a free kick at a dangerous spot just outside the box, for which he took a clever kick that ultimately went on to hit the woodwork. Was good in the attacking third by constantly pressing the ball and crafting plays. Compared to his fellow teammates, he had a decent match.
CM – Diego Gómez – 6/10
Provided support to Kaoru Mitoma by providing some decent passes and through balls to him. He also made some individual efforts, which earned his team some free kicks on the attacking side of the pitch.
LW – Kaoru Mitoma – 7/10
Challenged Emi Martinez and the defenders and kept them busy by making some shots and dribbles from the left side of the box. However a handball by the player led to the first goal scored by Brighton getting overturned.
AM – Brajan Gruda – 5.5/10
Had zero impact as an AM as he was seen only in the right wing region. He remained completely restricted in that area, making his impact very low.
RW – Simon Adingra – 6.5/10
Made an almost perfect finish in the first quarter, but the ball missed the target just by a hair’s breadth. Was there at the right place at the right time while he shook the net minutes after Villa scored their which was eventually overturned by the referee due to a handball offence.
CF – João Pedro – 6/10
He was seen only a couple of times inside the box, and during the instances where he was in the box, he failed to connect the ball. Was seen relatively more in the wings, trying to dribble and break from the sides.
Sub – Eiran Joe Cashin – 5/10
Sub – Carlos Baleba – 6/10
Sub – Mats Wieffer – 6/10
Sub – Danny Welbeck – 6/10
Sub – Matt O’Riley – 6/10
Sub – Fabian Hurzeler – 6/10
Coach – Fabian Hürzeler – 4/10
He was very successful in his strategy of aggressive pressing during the first half which almost silenced the Aston Villa backline and put them under some serious pressure. However, the pressure in the attack slowly led to all the players concentrating on the attack, leaving only a couple of defenders to mark the Villa attackers and stop them from scoring.
This strategy was the key reason for Brighton conceding the first. However, stuck to his tactics and continued to press desperately to find an equaliser which nevertheless went to vain.
Aston Villa Player Ratings
GK – Emiliano Martínez – 7/10
Had really good awareness throughout the match. Though he was challenged only a couple of times, he came to rescue whenever his team needed him, providing his fingertips to block some powerful shots.
LB – Lucas Digne – 7/10
Had a pivotal role in the left wing, making clearances and also making a cameo role in the attack by advancing multiple times to provide crosses. Had great passing accuracy and also excelled in tackles.
CB – Pau Torres – 7/10
Stood strong as a wall by clearing some dangerous-looking attempts by conceding corner kicks. Was there to make blocks and clearances whenever the team needed him. Shared the responsibility of covering Kaoru Mitoma along with Matty Cash.
CB – Ezri Konsa – 7/10
Though he was shaky in the first half, once the team was in the lead he gained some composure and defended well. Was involved in some clean tackles keeping the opponents away from the defensive territory.
RB – Matty Cash – 7/10
Was instrumental in covering the right flank in the defensive part especially restricting Kaoru Mitoma from dribbling in everytime he attempted.
CM – Boubacar Kamara – 7/10
Played a decent role in the match by providing some key passes to Rashford inside the box. Won some duels, both ground and aerial, restricting the opponents from coming inside their territory.
CM – Youri Tielemans – 6/10
Though he made some passes in the midfield, most of them went to vain as they couldn’t whitstand the intense pressure by the Brighton players. Was however successful in long balls as all the long balls made by him reached the target.
LW – Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
Made a beautiful run inside the ball and was in control until he was tripped over by Hinshelwood, which could have led to a potential penalty for Aston, which however, did not seem convincing for the referee. Was very active in the flanks, making some important runs that confused the defenders.
AM – John McGinn – 7/10
Was involved in some attack by heading some crosses which ultimately went wide to the left. Though less in numbers he had his on roles in clearing the balls, winning duels, making interceptions etc. Had an overall display of events.
RW – Morgan Rogers – 8/10
Provided a long aerial through ball to the opponent’s box, which landed in the boots of Rashford, which initiated a quick counter attack that led to the first goal for Villa. Was also involved in the second goal by providing his second assist by again capitalizing on a counter attack. Overall had a great match with some interceptions and dribbles through the wing.
CF – Marcus Rashford – 7.2/10
Had two phases in the match. The first phase was during the first half where eventhough he made some off target shots he remained relatively silent and the second phase was during the second half where he played like a beast. Properly positioned himself, made an incredible run passing the defenders and chipped the ball over the keeper making the score 1-0.
Sub – Amadou Onana – 6/10
Sub – Marco Asensio – 7/10
Rounded up another important goal as a substitute by properly executing a counterattack.
Sub – Ollie Watkins – 6/10
Sub – Axel Disasi – 6/10
Sub – Donyell Malen – 7/10
Found the back of the net in the very last minute of the game, scoring his first ever goal for Villa.
Coach – Unai Emery – 7/10
Stuck with the strategy. Understood the weakness of the opponents was the weak defense and the gaps in the backline, which he properly capitalized on by implementing quick counter attacks. Made proper substitutions during key moments of the match and it turned fruitful as two of the substitutes scored goals. His awareness about the game and the opponents weak points helped his team earn back to back 3-0 victory securing three points and a win away from home.
Sportsdunia Player of the Match is Morgan Rogers.
What was the scoreline of Brighton vs Aston Villa?
0-3 was the scoreline of Brighton vs Aston Villa
Who were the goal scorers of Brighton vs Aston Villa?
Marcus Rashford, Donyell Malen and Marco Asensio were the goal scorers of Brighton vs Aston Villa
Who was the best player of the Brighton vs Aston Villa?
Morgan Rogers was the best player of Brighton vs Aston Villa
Who was the worst player of Brighton vs Aston Villa?
Dunk was the worst player of Brighton vs Aston Villa
