Aston Villa 0-0 Burnley: Player Ratings as Wasteful Villans Fail to Make Good on Chances

Burnley moved out of the relegation zone by holding out for a 0-0 draw away to Aston Villa, where the hosts failed to break the deadlock despite having over 20 attempts on goal.

Villa dominated from the first whistle and were intent on testing Burnley's defence from all angles, creating chances down either flank with neatly constructed attacks. They couldn't find any clear cut opportunities, however, and Burnley grew into the game after the opening 20 minutes to make it an end to end contest.

Anwar El Ghazi saw a sublime free kick saved by Nick Pope just after the half hour mark which was the chance of the half. The Clarets were keen to break on the counter but didn't have enough to open the scoring, sending an open contest into half time at 0-0.

The Villans were the side who came out looking better after the break and continued to pile on the pressure, but inspired defending from the visitors saw the likes of El Ghazi and Grealish scratching their heads.

Burnley seemed to run out of steam but kept themselves in the contest which made for an open-ended final 15 minutes. It felt like a goal was guaranteed and was there to be won by either side, but truthfully neither team possessed the quality in the final third to snatch all three points, summed up by Tyrone Mings firing wide from a free header in the 88th minute.

In a frustrating and cagey affair, here's how the players rated.

ASTON VILLA

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Emiliano Martinez (GK) - 7/10 - Didn't see the ball for 20 minutes and was then forced into action by pulling out a fine save to deny Chris Wood. Less busy in the second half but always confident.

Ahmed Elmohamady (RB) - 5/10 - Elmohamady was keen to impress on what is these days a rare Premier League start and looked a threat going forward, but did struggle to contain Dwight McNeil at times.

Kortney Hause (CB) - 7/10 - Didn't miss a step in his first league start of the season and slotted in seamlessly alongside Mings to take Burnley's forwards out of the game.

Tyrone Mings (CB) - 7/10 - Confident and led by example in defence, covering occasional long balls and bursting forward when necessary in the knowledge that Hause had things covered at the back.

Matt Targett (LB) - 5/10 - Rather quiet evening for Targett, who didn't need to get forward with Grealish helping to double up with El Ghazi down the left flank.

2. Midfielders

John McGinn (CM) - 6/10 - McGinn's contributions weren't significant in the first half, but his positioning, off the ball movement and retention were all superb.

Marvelous Nakamba (CM) - 5/10 - Quiet first half for Nakamba who had little to do, but did the simple things with confidence and swept up oncoming counter attacks efficiently.

Jack Grealish (CM) - 7/10 - Grew into the game as the first half drew on and exploited the Clarets as they tried to come out of their shell with some neat passing and mazy runs.

3. Forwards

Bertrand Traore (RW) - 6/10 - Pressed Burnley's defence smartly and put together a few nice attacking plays in the first half, but to no avail. Had a huge chance to bag the opener after 50 minutes, but didn't take the shot on.

Ollie Watkins (ST) - 5/10 - Watkins moved defenders well in the first half but largely got swallowed inside the Burnley box. Unusually quiet night where the Englishman looked low in confidence.

Anwar El Ghazi (LW) - 6/10 - The Dutchman was keen to get on the ball, but couldn't score for toffee. Eight shots on goal, but none converted. Has to show more variation and stop relying on his right foot. Wasteful evening.

4. Substitutes

Keinan Davis - 5/10

BURNLEY

5. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Nick Pope (GK) - 8/10 - Denied an inch perfect free kick from El Ghazi in tremendous fashion by tipping it onto the bar at full stretch towards the end of the first half.

Matthew Lowton (RB) - 7/10 - Lacked a proper attacking presence but ticked all the boxes and kept El Ghazi at bay, while also dropping in and reading danger elsewhere. Intelligent and resilient performance.

James Tarkowski (CB) - 8/10 - Led the charge in defence for his side with an aggressive but measured performance in the first half and kept Ollie Watkins silent throughout.

Ben Mee (CB) - 7/10 - Mee looked back to his best and showed his experience as Villa continued to knock on the door, winning an all-important four aerial duels.

Charlie Taylor (LB) - 7/10 - Concentrated defensive performance from Taylor whose tireless work ethic was key to Burnley staying resilient. Had an answer for Bertrand Traore at every opportunity.

6. Midfielders

Robbie Brady (RM) - 4/10 - The Irishman failed to truly assert himself in the first half and was caught out by Villa's attackers at times, and almost let the hosts in with a hospital ball after the break.

Ashley Westwood (CM) - 6/10 - Worked hard off the ball and was disciplined to stop attacks, but didn't get on it enough to cause a threat going forward.

Josh Brownhill (CM) - 5/10 - The game largely passed Brownhill by with Burnley's best chances coming from the long ball. Didn't wake up after the break and was caught in possession once or twice.

Dwight McNeil (LM) - 7/10 - By far and away Burnley's best football brain. Looked a threat every time he touched the ball and used the space around him well to bring teammates into play, but a lack of quality from the forwards let him down.

7. Forwards

Jay Rodriguez (ST) - 5/10 - Looked sharp on the break and proved to be more than just a goalscorer by running the channels, but couldn't find any clear cut chances and was hooked after an hour.

Chris Wood (ST) - 5/10 - Wood was starved of possession for the most part, but couldn't muster up anything significant when on it. Perhaps should've been substituted sooner than with ten minutes to go.

8. Substitutes

Ashley Barnes - 5/10

Matej Vydra - 5/10

Erik Pieters - N/A