Express & Star

West Ham 1 Aston Villa 1 - Player ratings

Matt Maher rates the Aston Villa players as the club ends the season with their remarkable survival confirmed.

Published

Pepe Reina

Didn’t have too many shots to save as Villa, once again, limited their opponents to very little in attack.

Looked slow to react to the goal, though the deflection on Yarmolenko’s shot was huge. Has shown great leadership these last few weeks. 6

Frederic Guilbert

The French full-back struggled early on and looked a little nervous, giving the ball away cheaply.

Made a couple of decent breaks down the right in the second half but was replaced as Smith looked to shore things up. 5

Ezri Konsa

Completely misjudged a long ball 10 minutes in, presenting Michail Antonio with a golden chance but to his relief the Premier League’s most in-form striker fired wide.

Regained his composure and this was another solid performance. 7

Tyrone Mings

Villa’s defensive leader seemed to shout his team through most of the match.

After criticism of some of his performances in the early weeks following restart, he has again come to the fore during the team’s remarkable escape this season. 8

Matt Targett

Struggled to get forward in the first-half and was particularly wasteful in possession, giving the ball away cheaply twice in the space of a minute at one point.

Gave away a couple of needless free-kicks which could have been costly. 5

John McGinn

The Scot’s improving fitness has been an undoubted factor in Villa’s improvement over the closing weeks of the season.

Closed down with energy and was dependable on the ball. Will be ready to hit the ground running next season. 7

Douglas Luiz

The Brazilian’s performance levels have rarely dipped below good since the season resumed.

In the past couple of weeks his team-mates finally caught up. Will be a exciting to watch him progress next season. 7

Conor Hourihane

The man who just refuses to give up, the Republic of Ireland international fought his way into the team for the closing weeks of the season and played a huge part in Villa’s survival, setting up most of their goals. 6

Trezeguet

The Egyptian international had a shot hacked clear in the early stages of the second half.

Worked hard throughout but the chances never fell his way and he could have been better on the ball. Still a hero of the Great Escape. 5

Mbwana Samatta

The Tanzania international kept his place in the team ahead of Keinan Davis and managed to register an attempt on target with a first-half header.

But this was another poor showing and he needs to improve massively. 4

Jack Grealish

When Villa’s skipper smashed home with six minutes to go, the script looked to have been written. Just a few seconds later, the ball was flying off his boot, over Pepe Reina, and into the other goal.

A big summer ahead. 8

Keinan Davis (for Samatta, 67) Shot wide. 6. Marvelous Nakamba (for Hourihane, 76) n/a, Kortney Hause (for Guilbert, 76) n/a, Anwar El Ghazi (for Trezeguet, 90) n/a.

Subs not used: Taylor, Vassilev, Lansbury, Jota, Nyland (gk).