Aston Villa

3.38

• 
  12

  0

  3.50

  Bradley Guzan

  Looked comfortable in goal, and made some excellent saves from an Ashley Williams header and a long-range Nathan Dyer shot in quick succession. Otherwise untroubled, and will be delighted to take a clean sheet.

• 
  12

  0

  3.50

  Ron Vlaar

  Looked tough and uncompromising in the centre of defence, making several key clearances as Swansea came forward, and marshalled his team-mates well as captain.

• 
  12

  0

  3.50

  Ciaran Clark

  Looked solid alongside Vlaar, but was cautioned for a clumsy tackle on Angel Rangel in the first half. Caused some problems from attacking set pieces, especially in the second half.

• 
  8

  0

  3.00

  Eric Lichaj

  Looked solid in defence, although Nathan Dyer gave him the slip a couple of times as he surged forward. Was comfortable on the ball in attack, but made little impact going forward.

• 
  18

  0

  4.00

  Matthew Lowton Top of the Match

  Scored a superb volley to give his side the lead, and found himself in acres of space as he came forward from right-back. Unlucky to be cautioned in the first half, but looked superb throughout.

• 
  7

  0

  3.00

  Stephen Ireland

  Enjoyed the central midfield dogfight alongside El Ahmadi, and managed to keep Leon Britton subdued for most of the game. However, he struggled to make much impact going forward, and was replaced by Westwood in the 70th minute.

• 
  10

  0

  3.00

  Karim El Ahmadi

  Battled hard in the centre of midfield, and was successful in keeping Britton quiet alongside Stephen Ireland, but did little in attack, as the wingers saw most of the ball.

• 
  15

  0

  4.00

  Brett Holman

  Looked nervy early in the game, but grew into it as it went on, as he cut in from the right of midfield to test Michel Vorm. Could easily have scored himself, and was replaced by Charles N'Zogbia in the 78th minute.

• 
  10

  0

  3.50

  Barry Bannan

  A typically combative performance from the Scot, who sent in some testing crosses from the left throughout and was key in set pieces.

• 
  6

  0

  3.00

  Darren Bent

  Held up the ball well without threatening goal himself, and proved a good outlet for Villa’s defenders to clear to. Ran hard for the whole game, although his industry didn’t create him any genuine chances.

• 
  8

  0

  3.00

  Andreas Weimann

  Had some early chances, two in particular that could easily have gone in but for two superb saves from Vorm. Replaced in the 70th minute by Christian Benteke.

Substitutions

• 
  7

  0

  Charles N'Zogbia

  Brought on in the 78th minute to replace Holman, but had too little time to make an impact.

• 
  6

  0

  3.00

  Ashley Westwood

  Replaced Stephen Ireland in the 70th minute for his first appearance in a Villa shirt, and continued his team-mates' good work in shackling Britton.

• 
  19

  0

  4.00

  C. Benteke

  Replaced Andreas Weimann in the 70th minute for his first appearance for Aston Villa, and looked very lively in his 20 minute cameo, scoring an easy tap-in to cap a memorable debut.

Swansea City

2.31

• 
  5

  1

  3.50

  Michel Vorm

  Was powerless to stop Lowton’s superb strike, and his distribution was not up to his usual high standard. However, he made some superb saves, particularly in twice denying Weimann and also Clark.

• 
  1

  1

  3.00

  Alan Tate

  Solid if unspectacular in the centre of defence, he struggled to cope with the aerial presence of Darren Bent at times, and was brushed aside all too easily by the England international.

• 
  0

  3

  2.00

  Ashley Williams

  Whilst he looked dangerous from set pieces, the defender was unable to keep Bent and Weimann at bay at times, and made a horrible error for Benteke's goal.

• 
  1

  1

  2.00

  Ángel Rangel

  Was guilty of over-hitting some of his cross from right-back, and was terrorised by Bannan and Lichaj as they dominated on Villa’s left.

• 
  2

  1

  2.50

  Ben Davies

  Made some good clearing tackles from the left, but was given a working-over by Holman as the game went on and sometimes struggled to live with the pace.

• 
  1

  0

  2.00

  Leon Britton

  Shackled in the centre of midfield, the man who turns 30 tomorrow was second-best to his Villa counterparts, and could not assert any influence at all.

• 
  3

  1

  2.00

  Michu

  Struggled for the first time in a Swansea shirt, and despite covering virtually every blade of grass during the game, simply could not get hold of the ball for any length of time. Eventually grew frustrated and was cautioned for a rash tackle.

• 
  2

  0

  3.50

  Nathan Dyer

  Looked lively down the right-hand side for little reward. Saw an early shot tipped over acrobatically by Brad Guzan, and gave Lichaj plenty to think about on Villa’s left.

• 
  2

  3

  1.50

  Wayne Routledge Flop of the Match

  Gave the ball away too easily at times and struggled to maintain attacking momentum when he had the ball on the counterattack. Replaced by Hernandez after 57 minutes.

• 
  1

  1

  2.00

  Jonathan De Guzmán

  Had little impact other than at set pieces, but saw some good through-balls not latched on to by his team-mates.

• 
  1

  0

  2.00

  Danny Graham

  Looked increasingly isolated in his lone role up front, and could not hold up the ball long enough to involve any of his team-mates. Was unsurprisingly substituted for Luke Moore in the 70th minute.

Substitutions

• 
  1

  1

  2.00

  Pablo Hernández

  Brought on for his first Swansea appearance in the 57th minute in place of Routledge, but made little impact during his time on the pitch.

• 
  0

  1

  Itay Shechter

  Brought on in the 78th minute to replace Leon Britton, but had little time to make any impact.

• 
  2

  2

  2.00

  Luke Moore

  Came on in the 70th minute for Danny Graham, but could not create any chances for himself at his former club.