Villa’s maestro was a cut above his teammates against Southampton and must excel again – opinion

Aston Villa dropped into the relegation zone, three points from safety after defeat to Southampton at the weekend. It was a largely torrid display by the hosts, who were particularly affected by an injury to John McGinn after only seven minutes. But their talisman Jack Grealish shone despite those around him wilting to put in a man of the match performance.

The left forward offered little help to his teammates defensively, though he did once show some intelligent positioning to cut out a pass and make an interception. However, if he is to help his boyhood side retain their top-flight status, in future, he will have to get more involved with regards to tracking back.

But while he was in possession, Grealish could not be faulted. The Englishman had the highest pass accuracy of any player who lasted the full 90 minutes for the hosts, making sure 85.1 per cent of his 47 passes reached their intended target. Furthermore, all of his three long balls also found a teammate as he set a shining example in possession. Though only one of his three crosses reached an Aston Villa player, that was still the second-highest of any player in claret and blue.

Where Grealish excelled though was in attacking scenarios, there is simply no other player at manager Dean Smith’s disposal who offers the same creative and goalscoring threat as the 24-year-old. On five occasion he dribbled around Saints defenders in a show of his supreme control with the ball at his feet. While the Englishman was chopped down by Saturday’s opposition on four occasions as they simply could not handle his attacking threat.

Southampton could not live with the left forward, who played a phenomenal seven key passes, he was unfortunate not to provide an assist, prevented only by his teammates lack of goalscoring potency. Though after being unable to rely on those surrounding him, Grealish went it alone and drove a stunning strike past Alex McCarthy in the Southampton net. It was one of Grealish’s three shots, all of which were on target.

Sadly, for Villa, the Englishman could not ignite a comeback, and his side slumped to the drop zone, three points adrift from safety at Christmas.