Aston Villa 0 West Ham 0: Fabianski stars, Masuaku has one to forget and Grealish runs midfield
IT was a feisty but wasteful night at Villa Park as West Ham and Aston Villa drew 0-0 in front of Gareth Southgate on Monday.
Arthur Masuaku’s second-half red card seemed to kick the Hammers into gear as the game finished in frantic fashion but Manuel Pellegrini's men couldn’t make it count.
The highlight of the first-half was Anwar El Ghazi’s apparent headbutt on teammate Tyrone Mings as Villa were generally more dominant before a much livelier second-half.
West Ham move to eighth and Villa shift to 17th after the draw and here’s what William Pugh thought of the individual performances in Monday's claret and blue derby.
West Ham
Lukasz Fabianski – 8
Kept a cool head during early Villa onslaught. Kept his eye on the ball to bravely punch clear at end of first-half and wiped El Ghazi out in the process. Solid for the remainder and was a calm presence behind a fragile looking defence.
Ryan Fredericks – 5
Sloppy in possession going forward and slow to track back throughout leaving his defensive colleagues exposed.
Issa Diop – 6
Dived in rashly a few times in the first-half but mostly because his teammates left him isolated. A rough diamond performance.
Angelo Ogbonna - 6
Was clinging on to clean sheet by the time half-time came. Better second half.
Arthur Masuaku – 4
Sent-off on 67 minutes – second yellow for silly lunge on Elmohamady. Booked for a WWE style bodyslam in first half.
As is often the case, struggled defensively. Jota had the better of him before half-time before he blazed one over on 26 minutes and I think it’s still in the air.
Declan Rice – 7
Quiet start. Possible England hangover. Came into his own second half winning the ball in key areas to set the Hammers on the attack. Southgate will have been pleased with what he saw.
Mark Noble – 6 (subbed off, 90mins)
Composed opening spell. Booked on half-hour for persistent fouling but seemed harsh. Lucky not to get second yellow soon after for going down very easily in the box. Solid nights work thereafter.
Felipe Anderson – 6 (subbed off, 69mins)
Worried Villa going forward but worked equally hard tracking back. Had chances to hurt home side on counter attack in the second-half but was wasteful. Tactically subbed off after Masuaku red.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 4 (subbed off, 60 mins)
Night to forget. Messed up a couple of first half chances. Sloppy pass in his own half nearly let Villa in on 18 minutes. Hauled off on the hour mark.
Manuel Lanzini – 7
Performance almost as good as his tan. Couldn’t tell he had a 10,000 mile round trip to Texas for a 13 minute cameo during the international break.
Sebastien Haller – 5
Very quiet first-half other than putting a header wide. Needed to be more mobile as West Ham attacks looked blunt.
Subs
Pablo Fornals (on for Yarmolenko, 60 mins) - 7
Looked far better than the man he replaced. Could have done more to nick a winner in frantic end to the game but was in the right spots.
Pablo Zabaleta (on for Anderson, 69 mins) - 7
Didn't stop running which was exactly what the Hammers needed after going down to ten.
Fabian Balbuena (on for Noble, 90 mins) - 6
Sprinted on really quickly to defend a corner. Then walked off really slowly a few moments later when the final whistle blew.
Aston Villa
Tom Heaton – 6
Had next to nothing to do in first-half. Done what he had to in second.
Frederic Guilbert – 7 (subbed off, 85mins)
Given a bit of a run around by Anderson first-half as West Ham focussed their attacks down his side. Much better in the second-half as he frustrated his Brazilian oppenent.
Bjorn Engels – 6
Just fine in the first 45 minutes but wasn’t under much pressure from Haller. Didn’t put a foot wrong in the second.
Tyrone Mings – 7
Looked solid enough in the first period. Haller didn’t give him much to do though. Involved in odd spat with El Ghazi and was headbutted by his own teammate. Booked on 77 minutes for unnecessary foul on Haller and nearly gave away a penalty with clip on Fredericks at the death. But watching Southgate will have been pleased with his performance.
Neil Taylor – 6
Barely involved first-half but Yarmolenko had a half to forget so not too much to contend with. Sort of went under the radar.
Marvelous Nakamba (subbed off 80 mins) - 6
Might need a new name. Started nervously and gave the ball away too easily. Played a nice one-two off Mike Dean for a drop-ball in the first half. Improved after the break.
Anwar El Ghazi – 6
Heavily involved in Villa pressure in first-half, had Fredericks in his pocket. Bizarrely headbutted Mings after his teammate had a go at him for not tracking back. Lucky not to get sent off. Played well enough having come into team to replace suspended Trezeguet.
John McGinn – 7
Lively start, first-half goal disallowed after clear foul on Ogbonna. One of home side’s better players. Lucky to get away with tackle on Haller second half.
Jack Grealish – 8
Pulled strings as Villa took the game to West Ham early on. Wesley missed a sitter from his excellent early cross. Harshly booked for innocuous challenge on Anderson first half. Best player on pitch for home side.
Jota – 7 (subbed off, 65 mins)
Had the better of Masuaku in the first-half. Slightly unlucky to be subbed off.
Wesley Moraes - 6
Gave West Ham’s defence a torrid time early on. Should have scored sitter of a header from Grealish’s cross early on. Physical all night.
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Subs
Ahmed Elmohamady (on for Jota, 65mins) - 6
Put himself about a bit after coming on. Failed to help capitalise on his side's extra man.
Douglas Luiz (on for Marvelous, 80 mins) - 6
Harshly dropped although he was disappointing against Palace last time out. 50/50 who plays next between him and the not so Marvelous man he replaced.
Keinan Davis (on for Guilbert, 85 mins) - 6
Not enough time to make an impact.
