Aston Villa correspondent Gregg Evans hailed full-back Ashley Young for his display in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Saturday evening.Â
The Lowdown: Stopped the rot
Steven Gerrard made one change from the defeat at Arsenal in midweek with Douglas Luiz coming in for Emi Buendia.
Villa put in a promising display, with Leon Bailey's second-half strike earning the home side a point following three successive defeats. Young was thrown into the action during the first half for the injured Matty Cash and caught the attention of Evans early on.
The Latest: Evans impressed
Taking to Twitter, Evans said that "Young has been excellent since coming on", with the 37-year-old making his first meaningful Premier League appearance of the season following a one-minute cameo vs Everton.
The Verdict: Very good
Many may have been concerned when they saw Young coming on for Cash, however, the experienced full-back was brilliant up against Phil Foden.
As per SofaScore, Young was Villa's second-best performer at Villa Park, earning a 7.0/10 match rating. He won an impressive six duels out of seven (85%), made four tackles and four clearances.
Therefore, should Cash's injury rule him out of next weekend's trip to Leicester, you'd like to think that Gerrard will have no issue with giving Young a first league start of the season.