John Townley’s Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery’s side are beaten by Everton in the Premier League
18:24, 18 Jan 2026Updated 18:27, 18 Jan 2026
Morgan Rogers argues with referee Tony Harrington(Image: PA)
Aston Villa missed the chance to move into second place after losing their first home league game since August to Everton.
Thierno Barry scored the only goal of the game just before the hour mark, ending Villa’s 11-match winning run at Villa Park.
Everton came close to opening the scoring inside the first 10 seconds, with Merlin Rohl hitting the post from the edge of the box after Barry held the ball up against Pau Torres. It was the quickest a side has hit the woodwork in the Premier League since 2006–07.
Villa’s Spanish defender then helped create their first opening, playing the ball down the channel for Emi Buendia. The Argentine had the chance to play Ollie Watkins in but instead opted to find Morgan Rogers in the box. Leaning back, Rogers’s effort went over the bar from his weaker foot.
The energy inside Villa Park dipped after John McGinn hobbled off with a suspected knee injury, further compounding Unai Emery’s injury problems.
It wasn’t until the half-hour mark that Villa carved Everton open again, as Youri Tielemans picked out Evann Guessand. However, the Ivorian – who came on for McGinn – couldn’t generate power on his strike, and Jordan Pickford comfortably collected the tame effort.
At the other end, Emi Martinez was called into action when Vitalii Mykolenko unleashed a shot from outside the box, which he tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner, Everton thought they had taken the lead, but Harrison Armstrong was ruled offside for interfering with play, despite Jake O’Brien being the player who headed past Martinez.
Moments later, Ian Maatsen reached the byline and pulled the ball back for Rogers, but O’Brien blocked the England international’s goal-bound effort to keep Villa in the game.
Villa ended the half as the stronger side, with Tielemans again finding space to work his magic – curling the ball to the back post, where Guessand’s header looped onto the bar and out.
Everton’s James Garner – who had already been booked in the first half – was lucky to remain on the pitch just before the hour mark. He appeared to push Rogers over just outside the box after the Villa midfielder had powered into the final third. Referee Tony Harrington waved play on.
Shortly after, Everton broke the deadlock through Thierno Barry, who clipped the ball over Emi Martinez after the goalkeeper failed to collect Dwight McNeil’s shot. The chance arose after Pau Torres lost possession at the edge of the box to McNeil.
Villa return to Premier League action next weekend, away at Newcastle United, following Thursday night’s trip to Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Matty Cash of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)
Player ratings
Emi Martinez
Martinez tipped Mykolenko’s effort over the bar, which led to the corner from which Everton thought they’d opened the scoring in the first half. He didn’t cover himself in glory for Barry’s opener, failing to gather McNeil’s initial effort. 5
Matty Cash
Cash had the task of keeping Grealish quiet, and he did so effectively, blocking the former Villa man’s shots and sizing him up well. He served up a cross to Tielemans in the 50th minute, but the Belgian steered the ball wide of the mark. 6
Ezri Konsa
Konsa won all five of his ground duels today, completing 79 of the 87 passes he attempted, five of which went into the final third. 6
Pau Torres
Torres came under pressure for letting Barry take the ball down inside in the early seconds before Rohl hit the post. He also misjudged the flight of the ball in the 39th minute when Everton launched a counter-attack but recovered well in the end. A sub-par display from Torres was capped when he failed to short his feet out on the edge of Villa’s box, which led to Everton’s opener. 4
Ian Maatsen of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)
Ian Maatsen
Maatsen deserved an assist when he pulled the ball back for Rogers in the first half, but the forward saw his goal-bound effort cleared. 6
Lamare Bogarde
Bogarde largely impressed alongside Tielemans in the first half. Although he is not as polished as Kamara, his raw attributes are valuable in the double pivot. 6
Youri Tielemans
Tielemans played a lovely pass into Guessand’s stride inside the box shortly after the Ivorian’s introduction, before picking him out again towards the end of the first period. 7
John McGinn
McGinn’s night was cut short due to a suspected knee injury – a big blow for Emery if he’s sidelined for any period of time. N/A
Morgan Rogers
Rogers put the ball over the bar from a promising position inside the box in the fifth minute after receiving a pass from Buendia, but came closer to scoring when O’Brien blocked his effort from going past Pickford. If Villa were going to score, Rogers would have played a part. 7
Emi Buendia
Buendia created Villa’s first big chance of the game, but instead of playing Watkins in, he opted to pick out Rogers. He appeared to tire late on, with Emery having few attacking options to turn to. 5
Ollie Watkins
Watkins didn’t get a clear sight of goal tonight, despite taking up positions to receive the ball in the box. 5
SUBS
Evann Guessand (for McGinn, 18′): Guessand hit the bar in the first half, but should have done better with his previous chance as he failed to work Pickford from a promising position in the box. 5
Lucas Digne (for Maatsen, 73′): Digne put crosses into the box for the final 15 minutes. 6
George Hemmings (for Bogarde, 73′): The 18-year-old was positive in possession and provided energy when Villa were in need of it. 6
Subs not used: Bizot, Wright, Lindelof, Garcia, Mings, Jimoh-Aloba.
GOALS
Aston Villa: N/A
Everton: Barry (59′)
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