Bournemouth were this week’s visitors at Villa Park and came away from the game with a much deserved draw after their record-signing, Evanilson, equalised late into injury time.
There was never a dull moment in the game, with even the first half being full of chances despite neither finding an opener.
The second half continued much the same with high intensity play from both Basque managers.
The scoring was opened by Ross Barkley, who found himself in the right place at the right time to convert the knock-down by Leon Bailey - a somewhat scruffy goal to concede from the Cherries’ point of view.
But Bournemouth, once again this season, were able to find a goal to get something from the game when Evanilson latched onto a Marcus Tavernier free kick to float the ball beyond Emi Martinez in the Aston Villa goal and give Bournemouth a deserved point.
-
Player Ratings
Mark Travers - 8
Much like his other Premier League appearances, Travers came in due to the unavailability of the first-choice goalkeeper - Kepa Arrizabalaga - and much like his other appearances, it was something special.
Arguably, he was Bournemouth’s ‘Man of the Match’ today after making some fine saves in both halves against the likes of Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa and prolific striker Ollie Watkins.
Despite conceding a scruffy goal, which cannot be the fault of Travers, it was his excellent performance in goal that kept his team in the game, even when they were a goal down.
A superb cameo overall.
Milos Kerkez - 6
Kerkez had a very solid game and did well to prevent Aston Villa from building anything on his side with Villa players often looking in the middle for options rather than down the left.
The Hungarian could have done better for the Ross Barkley goal, as he let Leon Bailey go in the middle who assisted the goalscorer.
His attacking play was as energetic as ever with the familiar bombing runs down the wing providing options for the overlap.
Marcos Senesi - 6
Despite a bit of a nervy start to the game as Villa ruthlessly attacked the Bournemouth goal in the first ten minutes, the Cherries’ defender grew into the game and gave a solid performance with his fellow central defender - Illia Zabarnyi.
His work up against the strong and fast Ollie Watkins was excellent and he refused to allow the Villa striker to feel comfortable around him.
Senesi’s passing play was also something to behold with a diverse style of passing play.
Illia Zabarnyi - 7
With his Argentinian teammate, Zabarnyi’s performance was solid, as he once again proved to be a key player in Andoni Iraola’s side.
He stood strong against Ollie Watkins and Jhon Durán, once both were on the pitch.
Zabarnyi read the game perfectly throughout the whole 90 minutes, using his strength and know-how against some tricky Villa players.
Weather it was blocks, tackles or headers, anything that was put up against the defender was dealt with easily.
Julián Araujo - 4
Starting for a second Premier League game in a row, his performance last weekend in the Arsenal victory was solid in stopping Leandro Trossard from making an impact on the game.
This weekend, however, Araujo found himself being caught out on numerous occasions against Jordan Ramsey who was easily able to get behind him - mainly due to the Mexican’s positioning on the pitch.
He was eventually substituted on 30 minutes for veteran defender Adam Smith, who provided more defensive stability.
Lewis Cook - 7
Bournemouth fans have hailed Cook this season as the club’s best player so far, or at least top three and today there was no doubt about that again.
He controlled the middle well and his running never stopped.
Both defensively and offensively Cook was superb to watch and if it was not breaking up play, he was pressing high up the pitch to win the ball back and serve it up for his fellow teammates.
Ryan Christie and Cook have become a formidable pair in Bournemouth’s midfield and this game was no exception.
Ryan Christie - 6
It should come as no surprise that Christie’s performance was full of running and energy with the Scotsman being a thorn in the side of any Villa player unlucky enough to be in front of him.
Throughout the whole game he was harrying the opposition attackers and constantly nicking balls off of them and did his defensive duties well.
Once he regained possession for his side, Christie was great at turning and moving the ball forward - he became key in igniting Bournemouth’s forward play and supplying balls for the wide men.
Antoine Semenyo - 6
It was a tough game for Bournemouth’s top goalscorer with the hosts marking him tightly throughout and even putting multiple men on him to stop any influence he may have had.
Semenyo was up against Matty Cash, who was excellent at marking him and cutting out any threat.
Despite it being, overall, a very good performance for the Cherries, Semenyo’s was less than inspiring and ended the game with a booking for simulation in the box.
Justin Kluivert - 6
It took some time for the Dutchman to get into the game, with Villa largely controlling the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Once the Cherries found their place in the game it was Kluivert who was pulling a lot of strings, especially in the first half with his shots, crosses and passes proving a problem for the hosts.
In the second half, Kluivert’s influence started to wane and eventually Iraola took him off for Marcus Tavernier.
Dango Ouattara - 5
Ouattara had a quiet first half and struggled to get into the game.
He used his pace to great effect at times and fulfilled his defensive duties when needed.
Overall, however, Ouattara had a quiet game and was rarely seen during the match but that is not to say he had a bad performance.
Enes Ünal - 5
Evanilson had started the previous seven league games for Bournemouth but this week it was the turn of Turkish striker Enes Ünal.
It was a tough game for Ünal, who struggled to get into the game and make an impact.
That being said, his link-up play was decent and was always trying to get his fellow attackers involved in the play.
He did not get much of a sight on goal and rarely troubled the Aston Villa goal.
-
Substitutes:
Adam Smith - 7
Smith did not start the game but was substituted on after 30 minutes to replace Julián Araujo, who kept finding himself well out of position against pacey opposition.
The club captain brought a sense of calm to the defence and shored it up going into the last 15 minutes of the first half.
Come the second half, Smith continued to be sturdy and minimalised the threats that came from Ramsey down his side.
Marcus Tavernier - 7
Replacing Justin Kluivert in the middle, in what seems to be a new role for him, Tavernier provided the assist for Bournemouth’s late equaliser from a low whipped in free kick.
His performance in open play was decent as he tried to find Bournemouth a goal at the end of game.
Evanilson - 7
Many fans will have been surprised to see the Brazilian starting on the bench today but his substitute appearance was an inspired decision by Iraola.
Evanilson provided more of a running-outlet for his teammates, who was always playing on the shoulders of the Villa defenders.
He took his goal excellently, just brushing the free kick to glance it over Emiliano Martínez in the far corner, quite literally at the end of the game, which doubles his goals tally for the season following his high profile arrival.
Tyler Adams - 5
Whilst Adams did not provide a significant impact on the game, it was good to see the American get some minutes under his belt following another injury setback in his Bournemouth career.
David Brooks - 5
Brooks’ influence on the game was minimal after coming on late.
