Reading 0-0 Aston Villa: Player Ratings

Emiliano Martinez: 7

Although there were some shaky moments - perhaps inevitably - Martinez looked comfortable in his distribution of the ball. He did well not to lose his composure when playing short to his defenders while under pressure from the Villa front line, and his long kicking was noticeably better than that of Anssi Jaakkola. Made a fantastic second half save, and dealt with crosses effectively.

Andy Yiadom: 6

Got forward well in the first half but had to deal with more Villa pressure in the second half, and did pretty well against El Ghazi. His attacking instincts seem to have faded a bit recently, so Jose Gomes will need to find a way of getting Yiadom higher up the pitch.

Matt Miazga: 8

Dominant aerially and dealt with pretty much everything that came his way. Distributed the ball well too.

Liam Moore: 7

Like Miazga, a solid performance, and the duo earned their clean sheet.

Tyler Blackett: 6

As with Yiadom, he was more pinned back in the second half, but had pushed forwards well before the break. He lacks that bit of pace to really stretch the play on the wing, but on the whole he looks better defensively and in possession than any of our other left-back options.

Andy Rinomhota: 6

Typically energetic and busy in his destroyer role in front of the defence. Won the ball back well, but he was also guilty of a few sloppy moments in possession.

John Swift: 5

Popped up as a number ten and deep-lying playmaker on the day, and blew hot and cold. He was capable of lovely touches and passes, but also slipped back into some of his bad habits - careless touches and passes. Below-par set pieces too.

Ovie Ejaria: 7

A really tidy, composed performance. He’s got a great mixture of strength and close control that meant he won possession and kept it in tight areas really effectively. I’m not sure whether playing out wide is the best position for him, but to be fair he did come close to winning a first-half penalty when he cut inside off the left.

Lewis Baker: 5

Had the same brief as Swift, switching between the number ten and deep-lying roles, but didn’t do enough to influence the game and create chances.

Callum Harriott: 5

Looked lively in the first half, cutting inside off the right flank onto his stronger left foot. However, he seemed to tire in the second half - understandable given his lack of regular football recently - and was less effective.

Nelson Oliveira: 6

On the whole he led the line well, holding the ball up effectively for his teammates and trying to turn his man before running forwards, and also forced a very fine save in the first half. That said, he looked a tad frustrated in isolation after the break when Villa started to grab hold of the game.

Subs

Omar Richards: 5

Brought onto the left wing in place of Harriott, presumably to shore up that side of the pitch and give Blackett some cover. But he’s naturally not as good going forwards as McCleary or Barrow, who would have offered more as Reading pushed for a late winner.

Yakou Meite: 5

Replaced Oliveira after his facial injury, and didn’t have much of an effect. He’s not up to the Portuguese striker’s technical level, which could prevent him from featuring regularly under Gomes.

Sone Aluko: 6

Looked likely without creating too much. A shame that he didn’t start after recent strong performances.

Average: 6/10

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