Everton vs Aston Villa - Player Ratings: Several positives despite goalless draw | OneFootball

Everton were held to a goalless draw against Aston Villa at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Despite failing to win a third league match on the bounce, there were plenty of positives for David Moyes’s side. They were by far the better of the two sides and showed a lot of intent in this game. The Blues created several chances, evident from the 2.17 expected goals (xG). They had 20 attempts over 90 minutes but had only two shots on target.

The Toffees also pressed their opponents well, and the players showed a lot of cohesion in the build-up. Defensively, too, Everton were sound. James Tarkowski and Michael Keane led the backline with authority and reduced Aston Villa to just 0.54xG.

On another day, with better finishing and slightly better decision-making, there’s no doubt that the hosts would’ve come away with all three points. Here are the player ratings from Everton’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa:

Jordan Pickford - 6

Jordan Pickford was barely troubled throughout the game, with Villa managing just one shot on target. Pickford came off his line and showed bravery to collect the ball from a deep free-kick.

Jake O’Brien - 6

There was one odd moment where Jake O’Brien decided to leave a header in his box, and fortunately, the decision went unpunished as Lucas Digne stopped making his run. Besides the odd error in judgement, O’Brien was defensively sound and didn’t give anything away to the opposition, especially in the second half.

James Tarkowski - 7

It was a return to form for Tarkowski, who put in his best performance of the season so far. Commanded the defence excellently, used his body well to snuff out chances and also provided some great long balls in the first half that Beto should’ve done better with.

Michael Keane - 8

Keane has continued his strong start to the season with another wonderful performance this afternoon. He made vital interceptions in the backline and was also a constant threat from set-pieces. With better luck and timing, Keane could’ve easily grabbed a goal from a header here.

James Garner - 8

Returning to the makeshift left-back role, Garner looked comfortable once again. He was defensively solid, winning all of his ground duels and supported Grealish well on the left flank. He almost recreated his goal against Brighton with a shot from a similar position, but it got blocked by an opposition player.

Idrissa Gueye - 7

Once again, Idrissa Gueye was everywhere on the pitch. Ate up ground constantly and while some of his passes could’ve utilised more precision, he recovered possession a number of times for the Blues.

Tim Iroegbunam - 6 (subbed off for Rohl at 66’)

It was a quiet afternoon for Iroegbunam, who failed to impose himself against his former side. Gave the ball away carelessly on a couple of occasions and conceded a free-kick which saw him enter the referee’s book.

Iliman Ndiaye - 8

It’s astounding how Iliman Ndiaye has seamlessly taken to the opposite flank and continues to produce moments of magic. He showed both skill and graft in this game, completing the most dribbles (3) and winning the most duels (10) out of anybody. Constantly kept Digne and Buendia on their toes and could’ve had an assist after setting up Beto.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 6

An unremarkable game from the new summer signing, who kept things ticking, but failed to produce meaningful danger. His deliveries from corners were great, though.

Jack Grealish - 8

It’s a joy to watch Jack Grealish constantly dart towards the six-yard box and torment the opposition full-back. He was excellent once again against his boyhood club and created five chances, including producing a big save off Emi Martinez. His whipped crosses to Keane were delightful but Grealish was guilty of trying a bit too hard towards the closing stages to get the all-important goal.

Beto - 5 (subbed off for Barry at 75’)

Beto’s movement created a lot of threat early on, and he should’ve put the Blues ahead in the opening five minutes. He went on to miss two more solid opportunities, including wasting Tarkowski’s delightful balls over the top. These are the kind of games where Beto’s game often stands out as frustrating despite the hard work he puts in.

Subs

Merlin Rohl - 6

The German midfielder, signed on Deadline Day, showed some good touches on his Everton debut and won both his tackles. Promising start.

Thierno Barry - 6

Thierno Barry had a good chance after being put through on goal but didn’t quite have the pace to create separation from his marker and get into a better scoring position.

Reader Comments (5)

Keane was dominant, to me he's back to the player he was in 2018/19 when partnering Kurt Zouma regularly.

He gets unfair criticism based on people who remember him for the partnership he had with the walking disaster area that was Mason Holgate, a player that would have made Franz Beckenbauer look awful.

It was a good team performance today, a well organized performance that seen many chances created but for me the strikers are the weakest link.

I don't know what plans we have for January but we absolutely definitely need to resolve it, we all knew it needed to be looked at before the summer window closed, was surprised it was addressed then because it will be the cause of more frustrating games like this between now and January I expect.

Michael Bennet 4 Posted 13/09/2025 at 19:17:05

You're so right jim them strikers will be the difference between finishing in Europe places hopefully, and finishing 6 from bottom, oh to have Richarlison in that team.

Sean Kearns 5 Posted 13/09/2025 at 19:42:48

We had no full-backs (which are a huge part of the modern game), Garner is a right-footed centre-midfielder playing at left-back, for fuck's sake!

This also greatly limits our wingers who link up with them… Also, we have 2 center forwards who aren't elite. Also, Villa played all the dark arts today.

All things considered, we are cooking and it's a long season. It's still a rebuild, let's not forget. I can see good progress, so no complaints here…. I fancy us to get far in the cups too!!! UTFT