A late Henri Lansbury strike saw Roberto Di Matteo’s men held to a 2-2 draw at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
Pierluigi Gollini 6/10 – Forced off at the break after failing to recover from taking a boot to the throat during the first half. Didn’t have a single save to make beforehand.
Ritchie De Laet 5.5/10 – Managed to settle into the game a bit after a though start but was caught out of position several times and didn’t make as much of an impact going forward as anticipated.
Tommy Elphick 6/10 – Had some shaky moments in the second half but proved fairly sturdy otherwise, recording three tackles and a team-leading six clearances over the course of the afternoon.
James Chester 5/10 – After a solid first half, the Welsh defender lost track of Apostolos Vellios on the Greek striker’s 57th-minute opener and let Hildeberto Perriera ghost past him to tee up the late equaliser.
Aly Cissokho 6/10 – Served up a handful of dangerous crosses but needed to offer more support for Grealish on the left-hand side.
Ashley Westwood 6/10 – Quietly efficient in possession but his lack of physicality in the middle became a real problem as the match wore on.
Gary Gardner 5/10 – A difficult day for the former Forest loanee. Gave the ball away in the lead-up to Vellios’ strike before being sacrificed for Gestede eight minutes later as Villa looked to get back into the game. Put in a decent defensive shift during the first half but failed to offer much going forward.
Jordan Ayew 9/10 – Easily Villa’s standout player on the day. As well as working tirelessly throughout, the Ghanaian set up both goals and hit the crossbar soon after Forest took the lead. He fired off seven shots in total, while also winning four tackles and recorded six crosses.
Jack Grealish 6.5/10 – Had plenty of bright moments despite being largely outnumbered on the flank but started to run out of ideas as the second half progressed. Deserves credit for his tracking back, though.
Ross McCormack 7/10 – Hit the post in the first half before later drawing Villa level in the 72nd-minute with a confident finish. Needed to be more involved in the final third but linked up well with Kodjia.
Jonathan Kodjia 7.5/10 – A very promising debut for the former Bristol City man. Impressed with his movement up top and came close to opening his Villa account with a couple of powerful headers.
SUBSTITUTES
Mark Bunn (Gollini 46) 6/10 – Perhaps could have done better on Velios’ goal but had no chance of stopping Henri Lansbury’s 87th-minute finish. Those were the only occasions he was tested by Forest.
Rudy Gestede (Gardner 65) 7/10 – Made a swift impact following his introduction, putting Villa in front in the 74th-minute with an acrobatic finish.
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