Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham: Key Stats and Player Ratings
Goals from Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado secured a comfortable victory over an Aston Villa side that struggled without the services of star striker Christian Benteke. The Belgian began the game on the bench but his arrival galvanised the home side before Soldado put paid to any hopes of a comeback with a cool finish from Paulinho’s superb assist in the second half.
Aston Villa:
Brad Guzan (0)
A smart save from Townsend kept the deficit down but was bamboozled by Soldado’s run for the first goal. But Spurs failed to really test him with just two saves overall.
Leandro Bacuna (3)
Couldn’t cope with the movement of Holtby, Sigurdsson and the overlapping Vertonghen down the left, making just one successful tackle. He did however, make four interceptions.
Ron Vlaar (9)
Dependable at times, making nine successful clearances and kept Soldado quiet for much of the game.
Nathan Baker (6)
A late replacement for Clark, the defender performed admirably in the face of a constant barrage of Spurs offences, retaining the ball well with a 80 per cent pass completion rate.
Antonio Luna (-15)
Didn’t really cope with the in-form Townsend and the advancing Walker, with the goal coming from his flank initially but he did make four successful clearances.
Karim El Ahmadi (-9)
Struggled to impose himself on the game with just 20 passes in midfield for a 75 per cent pass completion.
Ashley Westwood (-13)
Booked early on for a nasty high tackle on Holtby, he struggled to get going with no tackles attempted against a dominant Spurs midfield. Westwood made just one successful cross from seven attempts today.
Fabian Delph (10)
Showed some excellent touches going forward and was Villa’s brightest performer with a 88 per cent pass accuracy rating. He also won all four of his tackles.
Andreas Weimann (-3)
Had several good chances to grab a goal for Villa but couldn’t take advantage with all six of his shots going off target.
Gabriel Agbonlahor (-28)
His pace threatened on the break occasionally but Villa couldn’t get the ball enough to utilise it with the Englishman making just ten passes in the game.
Libor Kozak (-19)
Struggled to make an impact as Benteke’s shadow loomed large and failed to make a single shot and lost six of his nine headed duels.
Subs:
Christian Benteke (-1)
On for the ineffectual Kozak, his arrival triggered an upturn in the Villa performance and won seven out of eight headed duels.
Yacouba Sylla (9)
Replaced El Ahmadi after 70 minutes, he completed all six of his passes for a 100 per cent completion rate.
Aleksandar Tonev (6)
A late substitution for Agbonlahor, he had little time to make an impact.