Player Ratings | Bristol City 0-3 Aston Villa | Match Report & Goals

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1. Away games in cup competitions have proved to be a banana skin for us in recent seasons, so when I heard that there were 11 changes from our match against Sheffield United I was a bit concerned. As far as the League Cup goes, I buy into Dean Smith’s thinking: Football should be about winning trophies, bot about clinging on to your place in the division. Villa have a long and proud history in the competition, and I remember going crazy as Atkinson and Saunders put Manchester United to the sword, the feeling of pure vindication seeing Savo score a wonder goal at Wembley and joy watching Ian Taylor lifting the cup. The League Cup is a route into Europe, and we were one goal away afgainst City last year. Hopefully we can take the next step this season.

   Back to the game: it’s always worrying when you hear “11 changes”, but Bristol City shuffled the pack as well and – let’s face it – the players we brought in were too much for their second string, and did a thoroughly professional job. The only surprise on the night given the possession and chances we had was that the score wasn’t higher; for that, all credit to Max O’Leary in the Bristol goal for keeping our players at bay.

   There were a lot of solid performances to enjoy last night – another Carabao Cup debut goal, this a wonder strike for Traore, and Jacob Ramsey continues to impress with the chances he’s given. There’s talk of another midfielder coming in before the deadline. but if Ramsey continues to impress then he might find himself a permanent fixture before long.

   Ratings:

   Steer ( 7 ) – didn’t have a great deal to do on the night, but handled everything that came his way with confidence. Wasn’t really troubled.

   Guilbert ( 7 ) – Whoscored’s man of the match, Guilbert has a tough task to stay in the squad following the arrival of Cash and Elmo’s continued reliability and versatility. If rumours are to be believed, he has a tough task to stay at the club as well. For me, that would be a crying shame as he has so much potential and ability, and shows a desire and determination to succeed we should be asking for. I’d love to see him and Cash lining up on the right together, and at the very least he offers real competition on the right. Solid defensively and dangerous on the attack.

   Elmohamady ( 7 ) – the evergreen Egyptian once again shows his versatility, slotting in at the back with another confident performance. He’s the ultimate squad player at this point, and honestly, it’s great to see. He still found the space to join the attack as well at times.

   Hause ( 6 ) – might be a bit of a harsh score, but the lapse of concentration and dispossession at the end soured what had otherwise been a very assured performance. Mistakes like that cost us far too many times last season, and in the Premier League would be the difference between a win and a draw, or a draw and a defeat.

   Taylor ( 6 ) – Taylor continues to be a dependable member of our squad. A comfortable game for him on the night, but compare and contrast his performance on the left with Guilbert’s on the right and you’ll notice the difference.

   Ramsey ( 8 ) – another impressive performance from the youngster who looks to really be playing himself into first team contention. Covered a lot of ground, linked up well with our attackers, played a great ball for Traore’s goal and will be disappointed he didn’t find the back of the net himself.

   Nakamba ( 7 ) – another ball winning display from the Zimbabwean midfielder, putting in the graft in the middle of the par and protecting the back four. He maybe didn’t catch the eye as much Ramsey, but his hard work and presence that helped give the youngster the freedom to impress.

   Lansbury ( 6 ) – couldn’t really fault Lansbury’s performance on the night – he worked hard, played the ball around well and generally looked untroubled. Didn’t quite make the the same impact of his fellow midfielders though.

   Traore ( 8 ) – a debut goal for the man from Burkina Faso and an eyecatching performance. He looked a real threat going forwards, with excellent close control and a turn of pace. Hopefully more of the same to come!

   Davis ( 8 ) – Davis is quickly making a real case for himself in our attack. Rewarded with a new contract earlier this week, he did everything tonight but score. He’s a menace to defenders and showed great awareness to set up El Ghazi.

   El Ghazi ( 7 ) – scored one goal and should probably have had more. This was a game for El Ghazi to showcase his attacking ability, and he did just that. Had a couple of wayward shots and a couple saved, but really linked up well with our other attacking players.

   Subs:

   Trezeguet ( 7 ) – probably the player who’s first team spot is under the most pressure from Traore’s arrival but he did himself no harm in the 20 minutes he was on the pitch. Worked hard and put the ball on a plate for fellow substitute Watkins.

   Watkins ( 7 ) – scored one and will be disappointed he didn’t convert at least one more of his chances, but was kept at bay by the heroics of O’Leary. Looks full of confidence and trickery. Just what we need.

   Hourihane ( 6 ) – didn’t have time to do much, but didn’t really have to. Another player who’s first team spot is potentially under threat.

   This morning’s news: Samatta is gone, Guilbert vows to fight for the shirt on Instagram, El Ghazi is linked with a move to Greece and rumours over Loftus-Cheek and Barkley continue….

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