Bakary Sako's late goal condemed Aston Villa to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace on Saturday, as Tim Sherwood's side were defeated for a second straight game.

Adama Traore had produced a wonderful dribble to equalise for Villa after Scott Dann's header had made it 1-0, but they had no response to Sako's winner.

With two losses and a win from three games, Villa have slipped down to 14th place, leaving Sherwood with some selection problems for next week's home match against Sunderland. But how did each Villa player do against Palace? We take a look, rating their performances individually out of 10.

'Keeper and defence

Brad Guzan: The American 'keeper couldn't have done much for either of the goals in terms of saving them, but he was partly to blame for the winner. Choosing to roll the ball out to Amavi with many Palace players still in the Villa half, the Frenchman gave the ball away as a result - and his side were punished. Other than that he made a few routine saves, but his passing was poor throughout. 4

Leandro Bacuna: This was a rare game in which Bacuna's defending was actually better than his attacking. One for bursting down the wing and stretching defence's with whipped crosses, his attacking influence on Saturday was poor, but he did well to contain Zaha in the first half. 5

Micah Richards: Not an awful performance from the Villa skipper, but he wasn't able to hold his defence together at the crucial moments. His positivity is shown as he often tries to drive the ball out of defence, possibly indicating that he is struggling to fully convert himself from a right-back to a centre-back. 5

Ciaran Clark: Probably the better of Villa's two centre-back's as Clark continued his solid form by winning some headers and timing his challenges well, but even he'll want to improve next week. 6

Jordan Amavi: Partly at fault for the second goal as it was him who gave the ball away, but he shouldn't have been given it in the first place. Aside from that he gave reason as to why he's looking like a shrewd signing from Tim Sherwood, defending well and always looking good when going forward with his blistering pace. 5

Midfield and attack

Carlos Sanchez: Handed his first start of the season, Sanchez impressed as the deepest man in a diamond midfield. He tackled with assurance and kept the ball neatly, demonstrating the attributes which helped him be one of Colombia's top performers at the Copa America this summer. 7

Idrissa Gueye: Proving to be a real box to box midfielder, 'Gana' showed great energy throughout but was unable to swing the game into Villa's favour. A tidy performance but nothing more. 6

Ashley Westwood: A week after signing his new deal at the club, Westwood kept his place in the side but similarly to Gueye, struggled to make much of an impact. Not to say he was bad, as his set pieces looked threatening and he worked hard tracking back, but he'll have been disappointed not to influence the game more. 6

Jack Grealish: Grealish returned from injury and was employed at the tip of the diamond, a position in which he flourished last season. He certainly added some flair which Villa had desperately missed in former games, and should have had an assist. His dribbling skills were on show too, taking players on for fun, which in turn saw Palace pick up three yellow cards for fouls on Grealish alone. 7 

Gabriel Agbonlahor: A really disappointing performance from the club captain, who spurned the best chance of the first half. Played in on goal by Grealish down the left hand side of the area, he choce to toe-poke with his right foot instead of shooting with his left, and Alex McCarthy made an easy save. He didn't do anything good elsewhere, and could lose his place next week. 3

Rudy Gestede: The target-man won his fair share of headers, as is to be expected, but wasn't given any clear cut chances by those behind him. This problem came from Villa setting up with a narrow formation that doesn't suit Gestede's talents, so his manager must take the blame for that. 5

Substitutes

Adama Traore: Superb cameo from the new signing, who took on three men before his cross was deflected in for an own goal. Unlucky to not have helped Villa take a point from the game, he's thrust himself into contention for a starting role against Sunderland. 7