Crystal Palace 4-1 Aston Villa Player Ratings: Unai Emery’s change in system proves costly as Sarr steals the show

Crustal Palace have moved to 12th in the Premier League table and are now just 6 points off the top half. They thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 at home on Tuesday night to stun Unai Emery’s side, who had beaten Chelsea in the previous match.

Youri Tielemans had the golden chance to give Aston Villa the lead in the 21st minute, but the Belgian’s header was off target. Jacob Ramsey did have the ball in the back of the net 5 minutes later, but the Englishman was offside, and the goal was ruled out.

Crystal Palace made the most of their luck and took the lead against the run of play. A corner that wasn’t to be followed by a Sarr handball that was missed inside the box led to a goal out of nothing. Adam Wharton looped the ball back into the box for Richards to head it towards. Emi Martinez got to the ball but his push was not enough to take it away from the six-yard box, and Sarr put the ball into the net.

The home crowd found their voice quickly and that pushed the players on the pitch to keep going. They had multiple chances to double their lead with Sarr missing their best chance by skying the ball after Martinez’s saved his initial effort.

Mateta was the next one to miss for Palace after he was found free inside the box. However, his effort rolled out for

Route One stuff from Aston Villa proved good enough for them early in the second half, and Morgan Rogers got them level just six minutes into the second half. Crystal Palace defenders were all caught napping or wrong-footed and the Englishman made the most of things. He had enough time to do a full 360 turn before slotting the ball into the net.

Mateta made up for his missed effort from the first half with a scintillating strike at the hour mark. Eze did well to lay the ball off to the striker despite having heavy pressure on him, and the Frenchman curled one into the near post with a lot of power, leaving Olsen helpless, and the home crowd raised the imaginary roof once again.

It was all Palace once again, and Sarr managed to score in the 71st minute to make it a double for himself on the night and give the home side a commanding lead in the game. Edward Nketiah came off the bench and sealed the win in the final seconds of the match with a tap-in to make it 4-1. Here are Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa Player Ratings.

Crystal Palace Player Ratings

GK – Dean Henderson – 6.5

He was having a decent game but would be happy that the goal from his mistake in the game did not count. He decided to stay on the line instead of charging out and getting the ball but Watkins was offside by an inch and it saved the goalkeeper his blushes.

CB – Chris Richards – 7

He dealt well with the Aston Villa forwards and got the all-important header to give his side the lead. Solid at the back and never looked like he was getting beat.

CB – Max Lacroix – 7

He was caught napping for Rogers in the first half but luckily the Aston Villa star was offside. That was his only mistake in the game and he ensured the Aston Villa forwards were not able to get past him with ease.

CB – Marc Guehi – 6.5

Probably the weak link at the back for Palace tonight. An off game for him as he was getting very little of the ball and making too many positional errors.  

RWB – Daniel Munoz – 7.5

Another good display from the right-back this season. He was doing well charging forward and also got an assist in the game.

CM – Adam Wharton – 8.5

He was simply too good today and was dictating the game. He was on the pitch for just 78 minutes of the match and played a key role in all three goals scored by Palace, though he did not get an assist today.

CM – Will Hughes – 5.5

He was just not good enough today and picked up a booking for nothing in the first half. That will now see him suspended for the next two matches as it was his 10th booking of the season.

LWB – Tyrick Mitchell – 7

He was up and down the left flank today and came close to scoring himself in the second half. It looked like he was set for another match without anything to show for, but got an assist at the very end.

CAM – Ismaila Sarr – 9.5

He was given the freedom to roam today and he made the most of it. Scored two goals and was relentless in the 86 minutes on the pitch. Could have easily scored more today but missed a golden chance to double the lead early in the first half. He got on the ball in and around the box and was looking to create chances at every opportunity.

CAM – Eberechi Eze – 8.5

Just one assist today but without him, Crystal Palace would have struggled up front. He was getting on the ball a lot and trying to make things happen for the home side.  

ST – Jean-Philippe Mateta – 8

He had very little to do today and managed just two shots in the match. He missed the easier chance but scored a stunner to give them the lead early in the second half.

SUB – Jefferson Lerma – 6.5

Came on and controlled the game for the final 30-odd minutes.  

SUB – Daichi Kamada – 6.5

Came on for the final 15 minutes of the match and did not have a lot to do.  

SUB – Edward Nketiah – 7

Came on for the final 10 minutes and scored to seal the 4-1 win for the home side.

Manager – Oliver Gasner – 9

He set the team up well and they delivered on the pitch. They dominated the game and could have scored more today.

Aston Villa Player Ratings

GK – Emi Martinez – 5

He should have done better for the goal he conceded and was lucky to have conceded just once in the first half. He was hooked off at half time and it could be another possible injury for the FIFA World Cup winner.

CB – Alex Disasi – 6

He was rather poor today and hardly made an impact today. Struggled to deal with Eze and was too slow to react most of the time.

CB – Ezri Konsa – 6.5

His performance is a puzzling one, as he was neither good nor bad. Did well against Mateta but still could not do much to stop the 4 goals.

CB – Lamare Bogarde – 6

He struggled to deal with the Palace forwards and was not able to do much on the pitch. His passing was good, but most of them were safe passes.

RWB – Andres Garcia – 6.5

He played just 45 minutes today and hardly got on the ball. He was hooked off at half time as Unai Emery changed his system back to normal.

CDM – John McGinn – 7

He was once again committing fouls, but the referee was happy to let him continue. He was not able to get an assist today, but sat back and did well to stop the counters.

CDM – Youri Tielemans – 6

He was up and down the pitch and should have scored early in the game. However, he missed his chance and that proved to be a key event in the game’s result.

LWB – Lucas Digne – 6

He was decent today but not great. He was unable to attack as much as he usually down as Villa pushed pinned them back.

RW – Morgan Rogers – 8

Scored two goals for Aston Villa today but only one of them counted. He was their best player and was driving into the box at every chance in the game.

LW – Jacob Ramsey – 6

Struggled to do anything significant in the first half and was taken off after the hour mark. He was just not able to do much against Richards and Munoz.

ST – Ollie Watkins – 7

The Villa forward was not able to do much today but assist both goals scored by Rogers – but the first one was chalked off as he was offside in the buildup. Overall, a weak performance as he was unable to shake off the Palace defenders.

SUB – Marcus Rashford – 6.5

Impact subs in the match against Chelsea and he was brought off the bench again – this time for the final 25. However, he failed to do much today and managed just 3 passes in the game.

SUB – Robin Olsen – 6

Came on for Emi Martinez at half time and failed to do much. Conceded thrice and should have done better for all the goals.

SUB – Marco Asensio – 6.5

Played over 20 minutes but hardly got on the ball. He finished with 100% pass success.

SUB – Leon Bailey – 5

Came at half time after Unai Emery decided to change the system and took off Andres Garcia. But he was not able to get past Guehi and Mitchell and that resulted in him having very little to do in the game.

SUB – Ian Maatsen – 5

Played just over 10 minutes and could not do much to impact the game.  

Manager – Unai Emery – 3

He made the mistake of changing the system and the changes were poor during the game.  

Ismaila Sarr was Sportsdunia’s man of the match.

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