Football FanCast
·27 November 2021
Football FanCast
·27 November 2021
Aston Villa secured their second consecutive victory under the tutelage of new manager Steven Gerrard, seeing off Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park in today’s Premier League encounter.
It was left-back Matt Targett who put the visitors ahead after just 15 minutes of action in south London, firing a low drive through a crowd of bodies from Ashley Young’s perfectly-weighted corner.
Gerrard’s charges put in a confident display in the opening half, and bar Wilfried Zaha’s golden opportunity following a jinking run, the Villans had the better chances to double their tally.
John McGinn, Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings all failed to add to Targett’s opening strike before half-time, leaving the game in the balance until the final moments.
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The returning Douglas Luiz then had a red card rescinded before McGinn made up for his earlier miss, capping a magnificent display with a well-taken effort in the closing stages, curling his effort into the top corner of Vicente Guaita’s net from the edge of the box.
Although it may have been against the run of play, the Scotland international earned his goal after dominating the engine room throughout, and his effort meant that Marc Guehi’s late effort was a mere consolation.
As per SofaScore, McGinn received a match rating of 8.7 out of 10, by far the highest total awarded to any player on the pitch, and when looking at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why.
The 27-year-old won 12 of his 15 duels throughout the 90 minutes, made a whopping seven tackles and successfully completed all three of his attempted dribbles.
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McGinn also picked out a teammate with both of his crosses, achieved a passing accuracy of 90%, and lost possession a mere four times, highlighting his hugely effective display in south London.
The Birmingham Mail‘s Ashley Preece was equally as impressed with the former Hibernian midfielders outstanding display.
“Rolled Kouyate beautifully and almost curled home a cracker in the first half,” he wrote after awarding the 27-year-old an eight out of 10.
Preece added: “Scored a cracker to seal the three points after bending home from the edge of the area. McGinn’s carrying a huge goal threat under Gerrard. A solid performance from the Scot who loved his goal.”
Gerrard will be hoping that his pivotal engine room operator can maintain this level of performance in the weeks ahead, with reigning champions Manchester City up next.