Nathaniel Clyne rescued a point for Southampton as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Monday night after Gabby Agbonlahor’s first-half strike.
Brad Guzan 7/10 – A typically confident performance from the big American, as he could little about Clyne’s 81st-minute equaliser. Proved Villa’s saviour on a number of occasions.
Alan Hutton 7/10 – Back from an ankle injury, the Scot continued his Villa resurgence with another solid display, helping out both in the attacking third and in defence.
Jores Okore 7.5/10 – Fantastic in his first Villa appearance in 14 months, not looking at all out of place. Should be back in Lambert’s plans moving forward now.
Ciaran Clark 8/10 – The star performer on the night, as he ensured Ron Vlaar and Philippe Senderos weren’t missed by keeping the back-four organized. Even managed to mark Graziano Pelle out of the game for lengthy periods.
Aly Cissokho 6/10 – Struggled to deal with Clyne’s pace at times, but was otherwise solid, getting forward with impressive aplomb at times.
Carlos Sanchez 6/10 – Not flashy but did the job he was brought to do, protecting the back-four against the constant Southampton onslaught by being a general nuisance.
Ashley Westwood 6/10 – Put in a solid shift when defending and also played a number of key passes to the forward line.
Andreas Weimann 6/10 – Full of running, but should have finished the second-half chance he had to make it 2-0, following an impressive counter-attack.
Charles N’Zogbia 5/10 – A very disappointing outing for the French playmaker, as his influence was almost non-existent before going off for Richardson just after the hour.
Tom Cleverley 6/10 – Was forced to spend most of the game chasing the ball but, like his midfield partners, did that job well.
Gabby Agbonlahor 7/10 – Isolated at times up top, but always provided a threat on the break with his pace. Was rewarded for his efforts in the 29th-minute when he beat Fraser Forster to stroke home for the opener.
SUBSTITITES
Kieran Richardson (N’Zogbia 64) 5/10 – Didn’t offer much more than N’Zogbia.
Darren Bent (Sanchez 75) 5/10 – A bizarre substitution which might have just cost Villa the win. Failed to make an impression up top, to no one’s surprise.
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