Aston Villa 3-0 Reading: Villans Beat A Hopeless Royals Side
Aston Villa completed a really comfortable 3-0 victory against a disappointing Reading side. At a rather muted Villa Park, it took just 30 minutes of the first half, for the first major incident to happen. Reading midfielder David Edwards was sent off for two yellow card offences, giving Aston Villa a one-man advantage on the pitch.
Towards the end of the half, they rained shots on the Reading goal but the Royals could hold on only until the 47th minute as Birkir Bjarnason curled a lovely finish past Mannone after a lay off from Robert Snodgrass. In the 63rd minute, Snodgrass was the provider once again, sending the ball across the box for Conor Hourihane to slot home.
Things got worse for Reading in the 70th minute when Scott Hogan pounced on a defensive error to get the 3rd goal that finished off the scoring for Villa, who had an impressive 12 shots on target in the game.
Aston Villa Player Ratings
Sam Johnstone – 7
Played well but had very little to do after Reading’s red card.
Ahmed Elmohamady – 6.5
Found himself quite far forward once Reading were down to 10 men. Used the ball well, got up and down the flank when he could.
James Chester – 7
Put in a competent performance and used his experience to easily break up the Reading attacks.
John Terry – 7
Like most of the Villa defenders, he had a quiet night. However, he marshalled the defence well whenever Reading attacked.
Neil Taylor – 6
Shanked a presentable opportunity wide of the mark but was competent defensively.
Birkir Bjarnason – 7.5
Got a goal and was able to play on the front foot much more than he would have expected to in this game.
Robert Snodgrass – 8
Provided two assists and put in an excellent performance. Was replaced in the 67th minute by Josh Onomah.
Conor Hourihane – 7.5
Took his goal very nicely and kept appearing in pockets of space. Will be happy with how he played.
Jack Grealish – 7
Not quite at his creative best but ran his socks off. Was replaced by Glenn Whelan in the 75th minute.
Albert Adomah – 7
Was unlucky not to get amongst the goals but was a constant threat going forward. He was replaced by Johnathan Kodjia after 66 minutes.
Scott Hogan – 7.5
Grabbed a goal and led the line well. He needs to keep putting in performances like this to keep Lewis Grabban out of the team.
Substitutes
Johnathan Kodjia – 6.5
Great to see him back on the pitch and had a couple of opportunities for Villa.
Glenn Whelan – 6
Offered a different option and calmed the Villa team down.
Josh Onomah – 5.5
Good for him to get a run out there but you could see why he doesn’t start for his side.