Aston Villa are enjoying a magical run in the Champions League after beating Bologna 2-0 on Tuesday night at Villa Park.
With three wins in a row, the Villans have moved to the top of the league phase, and once again, they have enjoyed another memorable night.
Villa skipper John McGinn set the tone when his 55th-minute set piece from out wide evaded everyone inside the penalty area before landing into the back of the net.
Jhon Duran marked his first Villa Park start in 11 months, and the in-form striker repaid the faith of his manager with a fabulous finish.
However, other players looked equally impressive. Morgan Rodgers and Youri Tielemans were simply superb.
The Daily Mail, however, has picked summer signing Ian Maatsen as the star performer, as they gave him a 7.5/10 rating.
The newspaper has hailed him as Villa’s “best player,” adding that he was “terrific” against the Italian club.
They wrote: “In for Lucas Digne and he was terrific down the left flank. He was Villa’s best player.”
Aston Villa were simply too good against Bologna
Apart from the odd chances, which is bound to happen, Villa never looked like they were under pressure.
Unai Emery’s side not only controlled the game properly, but they scored the goals that made all the difference.
Maatsen joined from Chelsea in the summer transfer window on a big-money transfer, but he has played mainly second fiddle to Digne.
The Dutch defender is yet to start a game in the Premier League. However, no one doubts his quality, and he was outstanding for Villa in his first start in the Champions League.
In defence, he made three tackles, two interceptions and two clearances. The Dutchman played out one accurate long ball and made 42 passes. He really made a big impact on a big stage, and Emery should now be looking to give him more chances going forward.
Leave a Reply