Villa ace could be dropped after 6/10 display

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Aston Villa’s momentum in the Premier League stalled once more following a frustrating 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Unai Emery’s side had won three of their last five before the clash with the Cherries, with the result at Villa Park their third draw in four games.

It was a disappointing performance overall for the Midlands outfit, who are normally dominant at home. However, it was not made easy by Andoni Iraola’s side, who were kept in the game thanks to a fantastic performance from goalkeeper Mark Travers.

John McGinn thought he gave his side the lead in the first 45 minutes. However, the goal was ruled out after it was deemed Ollie Watkins did not manage to keep the ball in play. Finally, with 76 minutes on the clock, half-time substitute Ross Barkley broke the deadlock, scrambling the ball over the line after Leon Bailey heeded a cross down.

The late drama did not stop there. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Brazilian forward Evanilson found himself unmarked in the Villa box, heading Marcus Tavernier’s free-kick home to snatch a point for the Cherries.

Although it was a disappointing performance from the Villans, there were still some standout performances throughout the game.

Villa’s best performers vs. Bournemouth

As has been the case for much of the 2024/25 campaign, Youri Tielemans was a standout player for Emery’s side on Saturday afternoon. The 27-year-old was given an impressive 8/10 rating for his work against the Cherries by John Townley, Villa correspondent for Birmingham Live.

As per Sofascore, his stats also suggest he performed well against Bournemouth. The Villa number eight had 91 touches in the middle of the park, and worked well in and out of possession, winning three duels and creating two chances.

Villans goalkeeper Emi Martinez was another player who stood out on Saturday afternoon. The World Cup winner received a 7/10 rating from Townely, who praised him for ‘excellent’ distribution and some ‘smart saves’ he pulled off.

The Argentina number one had some eye-catching stats from the game, too. He had 60 touches of the ball, making two saves and completing three high claims. Martinez also had a 76% pass accuracy and completed five long balls.

As good as the likes of Tielemans and the Villa goalkeeper were against Bournemouth, there were also some disappointing performances from players in Claret and Blue. One of the players who struggled was Amadou Onana.

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Onana’s stats vs. Bournemouth

After his major £50m move from Everton to Villa over the summer, Belgian international Onana has looked like a particularly smart signing. He has made eight appearances in the Premier League, starting each one, and has scored twice.

Thus, an off-day against Iraola’s side might be surprising given how he has performed so far this season. The 23-year-old certainly looked out of sorts, struggling to get into the game and surprisingly losing key duels in the midfield. He was subsequently taken off for goalscorer Barkley at half-time.

His stats reflect just how tough of an afternoon it was for the Villa number 24. Onana managed just 42 touches, almost 20 fewer than Martinez. He lost possession five times and won just two of his four attempted ground duels.

Onana stats vs. Bournemouth
Touches	42
Pass accuracy	88%
Passes completed	28/32
Number of times possession lost	5
Ground duels won	2/4
Fouls committed	1
Big chances missed	1
Stats from Sofascore

Indeed, the Belgian midfielder received a rating of just 6/10 from the aforementioned Townely. He explained that the early yellow card he picked up, after just four minutes, could have contributed to his substitution at half-time.

With the Villans set for a Carabao Cup meeting against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, before a tough trip to Tottenham Hotspur next weekend, Emery might well decide to rotate Onana out of the side.

Not only would this allow for rotation and minutes in the legs of other players, but could also allow the Belgian to start from the bench and find his best form with a busy Christmas period coming up.