Danny Ings’ sixth-minute strike was enough to earn Burnley a 1-0 win over Tim Sherwood’s men in their final-day clash at Villa Park.
Jed Steer 6/10 – Could do little about Ings’ goal but looked nervous during the opening stages, slicing a simple back pass at one stage. Grew from there, though, and made an impressive save after the break to keep his side in the game.
Leandro Bacuna 5/10 – One of the Dutchman’s poorer performances of late. Misplaced a number of passes and kept getting caught out at the back.
Ron Vlaar 5/10 – Allowed Ings to out-jump him for the opener before missing a great chance to equalise 10 minutes later, thumping his close-range effort over the bar.
Nathan Baker 7/10 – Impressive in deputising for the ailing Jores Okore, winning a match-leading 10 aerial duels and recording 15 clearances.
Charles N’Zogbia 4/10 – Starting at left-back for the first time in a while, the Frenchman failed to provide an attacking threat down the flank and looked uncomfortable in defence.
Ashley Westwood 6/10 – Forced a great save from Tom Heaton on the stroke of half-time with a rasping shot and was solid enough in his no-nonsense role in front of the back four.
Tom Cleverley 6.5/10 – Neat on the ball in midfield and full of running. Substituted to a standing ovation with 20 minutes left following what could have been his last home appearance for the club.
Fabian Delph 7/10 – The heart and soul of the Villa side, as he looked to drive things forward with his direct running and cultured passing. Final ball was lacking somewhat, though.
Gabby Agbonlahor 5/10 – The long-serving striker failed to make the most of his FA Cup final audition, squandering a great one-on-one chance to equalise in the second-half after shooting straight at Heaton.
Jack Grealish 6/10 – Barely misplaced a pass during the 90 minutes but failed to create any real chances for himself or his teammates either.
Christian Benteke 6/10 – Lacked service up top but wasn’t quite at his recent best either, wasting chances in both halves to equalise.
SUBSTITUTES
Scott Sinclair (Cleverley 71) 5/10 – Brought on to provide some width and pace but couldn’t get himself in the game.
Alan Hutton (Bacuna 79) N/A – Came on for the final stages for a gassed Bacuna.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
