Aston Villa player ratings after the draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in Louisville, Kentucky
Our dedicated Aston Villa reporter is always on the pulse of all things claret and blue, from major talking points to transfer news to match action, John Townley will bring you the very latest from Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park.
Boubacar Kamara was excellent for an hour against Frankfurt(Image: Connor Cunningham)
Aston Villa started their pre-season tour of the USA by drawing 2-2 with Eintracht Frankfurt at the Lynn Family Stadium in Lousville.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 12th minute, before Elye Wahi equalised shortly after. Morgan Rogers then restored the lead as Donyell Malen made his second assist of the night, but Eba Is levelled up in the 82nd minute.
The first chance of the game fell to Malen after he was picked out by Lucas Digne at the back post, but the forward opted to take a touch rather than apply a first-time finish.
The Dutchman then assisted Watkins by pulling the ball back across the box after being picked out by Boubacar Kamara, who was excellent for the hour he played.
Watkins could have bagged a brace when Marco Bizot launched the ball over the top of the Frankfurt backline, but after doing the hard work and beating goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, the England international missed the far post by inches.
Frankfurt equalised in the 20th minute after Tyrone Mings’ pass was intercepted, allowing the German side to work the ball to Wahi, who converted from close range.
Just like Watkins, Wahi should have doubled his tally when he went one-on-one with Bizot, but he dragged his shot wide of the target.
Emery brought on Pau Torres, Amadou Onana, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa for the start of the second half and the latter was fortunate his mistake of lingering on the ball didn’t lead to a goal after Michy Batshuayi missed from close range.
Villa went down the other end and restored their lead through Rogers, who finished well from inside the box as he met Malen’s cross from the right.
Frankfurt youngster Is then equalised late on to prevent Villa winning their first game of pre-season as he beat Joe Gauci from distance.
Player ratings
Marco Bizot Bizot looked good. He claimed the ball well and appeared comfortable with it at his feet. He played a brilliant lobbed pass over the top for Watkins to chase, which led to a great chance for the striker to score. 7
Matty Cash Cash was quick to spring into a high and wide position when Villa were in possession, allowing Malen to move into space. The two appear to be building a strong relationship on the pitch. 6
Lamare Bogarde Bogarde played as the right-sided centre-back when Villa were defending, and then shifted to the middle when they had the ball. He read the game well and impressed alongside Mings. He moved to right-back at the start of the second half but lost the ball early on, which led to a good chance for Frankfurt. Showed his versatility again by playing in midfield after the hour mark 7
Tyrone Mings Mings made an important block to prevent Can Uzan’s shot from reaching the target, but gave the ball away while trying to play out from the back, which led to Frankfurt’s equaliser. Mistakes will happen in pre-season. He won the ball back in Frankfurt’s half to set Ramsey away on the attack and also won a header in the box that led to a half-chance for Malen. 6
Lucas Digne Digne played a lovely ball to the back post for Malen to score, but the Dutchman didn’t take it first time. He was a good outlet on the left side, playing like a winger at times. 7
Boubacar Kamara It’s only pre-season, but this was a brilliant performance from Kamara. His passing range was spot-on, spraying the ball over the top and side to side with laser precision throughout. He set Malen away to assist Watkins and dropped into a back three in possession. 8
Youri Tielemans Tielemans won Villa’s Player of the Season award last year and will be gearing up for another big campaign as the club targets a return to the Champions League. In the seventh minute of this friendly, he lost the ball in Villa’s own third after dithering in possession – perhaps the first time he’s done that in the past year. He couldn’t quite intercept the pass that led to Wahi’s equalising goal. 7
Donyell Malen(Image: Connor Cunningham)
Donyell Malen Malen should have put Villa in front just minutes after assisting Watkins for the opener. He opted to take a touch when Digne picked him out at the back post More than made up for it by assist both goals for Villa. Big season ahead of the forward. 8*
Emi Buendia Buendia could have left Villa at the start of the summer window but is instead trying to play his way into Emery’s thoughts. He showed impressive fitness levels, covering ground well throughout. In the 15th minute, he popped up to intercept a pass across the box. 6
Jacob Ramsey You could tell Ramsey has been in training for a few weeks now. He looked strong and powerful on the ball and linked play nicely in pockets of space. 7
Ollie Watkins(Image: Connor Cunningham)
Ollie Watkins Watkins opened the scoring early on with a neat finish into the far corner. He then raced through, did the hard work, but pulled the ball wide of the post from an angle just before Villa conceded an equaliser. Excellent movement off the ball tonight. 8
SUBS
Pau Torres (for Mings, 46’): Solid in the back four and kept play moving nicely. 6
Amadou Onana (for Tielemans, 46’): Used his size really well and made a few clever touches. Really impressive from the Belgian. 8
Morgan Rogers (for Buendia, 46’): Scored with what was one of his first touches of the second half – took it really nicely with his weaker foot. 7
Ezri Konsa (for Cash, 46’): Konsa was lucky to get away with losing the ball to Batshuayi early in the second half – it should have led to a goal. 6
Jamal Jimoh-Aloba (for Watkins, 65′): Great experience for the 18-year-old to be on tour with Villa. He played up front again this evening. Enjoyed it out there. Used his body well. 6
Joe Gauci (for Bizot, 65′): Gauci doesn’t look too comfortable on the ball when playing out, but these pre-season games are exactly what he needs. He was beaten by Is from outside the box. 6
Samuel Iling-Junior (for Ramsey, 65′): Good to see the versatile left-sided player in pre-season. Didn’t see much of the ball today. 6
Ian Maatsen for Digne, 65′): Maatsen added some pace down the flank and provided another option after replacing Digne. 6
Triston Rowe (for Kamara, 65′): Rowe was solid at right-back and didn’t let much go down his side. 6
Leon Bailey (for Malen, 65′): Bailey wasn’t too involved as Villa were playing deeper when he came on. 6
Subs not used:, Martinez, McGinn, Patterson, Ozcan.
GOALS
Frankfurt: Wahi (20′), Is (82′)
Aston Villa: Watkins (12′), Rogers (49′)
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