Aston Villa Player Ratings vs. Everton: Arsenal Handed Huge Favour in Title Race

Aston Villa missed a golden opportunity to move up to second in the Premier League and close the gap on leaders Arsenal after falling to a 1–0 defeat at home to a well-organised Everton on Sunday evening.

With Arsenal held by Nottingham Forest and Manchester City beaten by rivals Manchester United the day before, Unai Emery’s side had a clear chance to make ground in the title race. Instead, they endured a frustrating night in which they dominated possession but struggled to break down stubborn opposition, while also losing John McGinn to a potentially serious injury.

Thierno Barry scored the game’s only goal, capitalising on a spilled save from Emiliano Martínez before producing a superb lob to find the net for the third time in four matches and secure all three points for the visitors. The win lifted Everton into the top half of the table.

The defeat brought an end to Villa’s 11-game home winning streak and marked their first loss at Villa Park since September. They remain third in the standings, seven points behind Arsenal and trailing City on goal difference.

Aston Villa Player Ratings vs. Everton (4-2-3-1)

Emi Martinez — Martinez gifted Everton the winner. | Getty/Darren Staples

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Emiliano Martínez—6.1: Was at fault for Everton’s winner, spilling Dwight McNeil’s otherwise tame curling effort straight into Barry’s path, who produced an excellent lob to punish the mistake.

RB: Matty Cash—7.2: Energetic down the right, often getting the better of Vitalii Mykolenko, and defensively reliable, but—like the rest of his teammates—unable to find the killer pass in the final third.

CB: Ezri Konsa—6.8: Solid when called upon, which wasn’t too often. Dominant in both ground and aerial duels.

CB: Pau Torres—6.2: A below-par outing from the Spaniard. Several long passes went astray and he struggled in the air against Barry, who got the better of him on multiple occasions.

LB: Ian Maatsen—7.0: Always willing to get forward and test the goalkeeper, Maatsen caused Nathan Patterson problems down the left, though his final product was inconsistent.

DM: Lamare Bogarde—6.8: Booked early and looked uncomfortable in possession at times. Villa will be eager to welcome Boubacar Kamara back to anchor the midfield.

DM: Youri Tielemans—7.9: Pulled the strings nicely from deep and shielded the defence well in transition. A composed, all-round display from a key figure in Emery’s system, even in defeat.

RW: John McGinn—6.0: Forced off injured early on. His replacement, Evann Guessand—fresh back from AFCON—struggled to make a real impact.

AM: Morgan Rogers—5.8: Everton focused heavily on shutting him down early, but he found more space after the break. Wasteful by his standards, missing several good chances.

LW: Emiliano Buendía—6.8: Created a couple of openings for Rogers, which went begging, and worked tirelessly to try to break Everton down to no avail. Went close himself with a late effort.

ST: Ollie Watkins—5.7: Quiet by recent standards. Managed just one shot on goal as Everton’s well-organised defence limited his involvement.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Evann Guessand (18' for McGinn)	6.9
Lucas Digne (73' for Maatsen)	6.3
George Hemmings (73' for Bogarde)	6.0

Subs not used: James Wright (GK), Marco Bizot (GK), Andres Garcia, Tyrone Mings, Victor Lindelöf, Jamaldeen Jimoh.

Everton (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Jordan Pickford; Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Jake O’Brien, Vitalii Mykolenko; Merlin Röhl, James Garner; Dwight McNeil, Harrison Armstrong, Jack Grealish; Thierno Barry.

Subs used: Beto.

Player of the Match: James Garner (Everton)

Aston Villa Player of the Match: Youri Tielemans

Aston Villa 0–1 Everton: How It Unfolded at Villa Park

Thierno Barry goal — Barry scored the winner against Villa. | Getty/Chris Brunskill/Fantasista

It took just 11 seconds for sparks to fly at Villa Park, with Everton almost taking a shock early lead. A long ball forward from Jordan Pickford was knocked down by Barry into the path of Merlin Röhl, whose subsequent effort struck the post—the quickest a team has hit the woodwork in a Premier League match since records began in 2006–07.

Villa quickly settled and began to assert control, and five minutes later carved out a clear opening of their own. Emiliano Buendía drifted inside from the left, escaped his marker and picked out Morgan Rogers near the penalty spot, but the midfielder leaned back and fired over.

That moment largely set the tone for the contest. Villa dominated possession and territory, but Everton’s compact, disciplined back four sat deep, denied space in the box and forced the hosts into rushed decisions. Rogers, Villa’s main attacking threat, found himself with chances but repeatedly failed to make them count, while Everton looked dangerous whenever they broke forward.

The Toffees thought they had taken the lead in the 35th minute when James O’Brien nodded in James Garner’s cross from close range, only for the goal to be ruled out after Harrison Armstrong was adjudged to have interfered from an offside position—a warning Villa would soon regret ignoring.

Unai Emery’s side continued to push after the break, despite losing McGinn to injury in the 18th minute. His replacement, Evan Guessand, rattled the crossbar, while Matty Cash forced Pickford into action as Villa searched for the breakthrough.

But just after the hour mark, Everton struck in almost identical fashion to their early chances. Pickford launched another long ball forward, Villa failed to deal with it, and Dwight McNeil’s effort was spilled by Martínez into the path of Barry. The striker showed superb composure to lift a delicate lob over the goalkeeper and into the net.

Villa threw everything forward in response, with Rogers at the heart of almost every attack. He came agonisingly close in the 72nd minute, curling a trademark effort towards the far corner only for Pickford to produce a superb save as England manager Thomas Tuchel watched on from the stands. Buendía also went close late on from range, but Everton’s defensive wall held firm.

In the end, it was a frustrating night for Villa: Dominance without reward, missed chances and a costly lapse at the back. The defeat not only denied them the chance to move up to second in the table, but was compounded by the worrying injury to McGinn—leaving Emery with plenty to ponder after a rare setback at Villa Park.

Aston Villa vs. Everton Half-Time Stats

Statistic	Aston Villa	Everton
Possession	62%	38%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.82	0.34
Total Shots	6	6
Shots on Target	3	1
Big Chances	0	0
Pass Accuracy	87%	82%
Fouls Committed	4	8
Corners	3	4

Aston Villa vs. Everton Full Time Stats

Statistic	Aston Villa	Everton
Possession	64%	36%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.36	0.56
Total Shots	18	9
Shots on Target	5	3
Big Chances	0	1
Pass Accuracy	88%	77%
Fouls Committed	15	13
Corners	6	4