Ollie Watkins 8, Anwar El Ghazi 8; Vicente Guaita 6, Christian Benteke 5: Aston Villa v Crystal Palace player ratings

Villa prevail 3-0 despite Tyrone Mings red card on Saturday

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  ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez - 7. The ex-Arsenal keeper was excellent in collecting and distributing the ball, while his only significant save came in the opening minute when he rushed out of his goal to close the angles available to Wilfried Zaha. Reuters

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  Matty Cash - 6. A great challenge denied van Aanholt a clear sight of goal when the Palace full-back appeared to get on the wrong side of the defender. Got beaten a couple of times by the quick feet of Zaha but wasn’t the only one. PA

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  Kortney Hause - 7. Saw much less action than Mings in a frantic first half but was the hero in the second when he nodded a header home from a couple of yards out to put ten-man Villa 2-0 up. EPA

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  Tyrone Mings - 4. The England international looked like he was running through treacle when Zaha raced past him in the opening 60 seconds for the game’s first big chance. Booked for his part in some handbags with Zaha in the first half and sent off shortly after for clipping the same player as he looked to get away. Reuters

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  Matt Targett - 7. Defended brilliantly against Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp on Palace’s right side, allowing very few crosses into the Villa box. His side’s best defender on the day. PA

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  Douglas Luiz - 6. A calm, composed display from the Brazilian, particularly so in the second half when Palace failed to build up a head of steam despite a man advantage. Replaced by Jacob Ramsey in injury time. EPA

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  John McGinn - 6. A great left-foot pass sparked a quick Villa counter that resulted in the opener and it was a typically energetic afternoon from the busy Scot. EPA

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  Bertrand Traore - 7. Opened the scoring inside the opening five minutes when he tucked home a loose ball and was unfortunate to not have a second to his name when he cut inside and fired against the base of the post from the edge of the area. A real livewire on the Villa right who was unfortunately withdrawn in first-half stoppage time to make way for centre back Ezri Konsa. Getty

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  Jack Grealish - 7. Had a great chance in the 20th minute when he was on the end of a Villa break but his effort was comfortably saved. A great player to have when you’re a man down and he was excellent at winning free kicks and keeping hold of the ball. Getty

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  Anwar El Ghazi - 8. Found some nice pockets of space and wasn’t afraid to drive at the Palace defence with pace and purpose. Forced a point-blank save from Guaita with a close-range prod at goal in the first half, before a rasping drive crashed in off the post to make it 3-0 and game over. Replaced by Ahmed Elmohamady in the closing stages. Getty

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  Ollie Watkins - 8. Worked space well and forced a save from Guaita that presented the ball for Traore to stroke home the opener. And it was Groundhog Day in the second half when his header kissed the crossbar, allowing Hause to mop up the rebound for 2-0. Watkins then hit the post with a strike in the 88th minute and he will be wondering how he didn’t score today. AP

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  SUBSTITUTES: Ezri Konsa (Traore, 45’) - 6. Slotted into the void left by Mings’ red card and didn’t give the Palace forward line a sniff. Getty

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  Jacob Ramsey (Luiz, 90’) - N/A. A few more Premier League minutes for the youngster. Reuters Ahmed Elmohamady (Watkins, 87’) - N/A. Not enough time to make an impact.

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  CRYSTAL PALACE RATINGS: Vicente Guaita - 6. Made a sharp save to deny Watkins but the ball rolled straight into the path of Traore, who made no mistake, and it was one of those games for the Spaniard in which rebounds fell to opposition instead of colleagues. PA

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  Joel Ward - 6. Kept busy by Grealish and El Ghazi in his own defensive third, but arguably came closest to scoring for Palace when his late cross inadvertently clipped the bar. Booked for a late foul on Grealish at the midway point in the second half. Reuters

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  Cheikhou Kouyate - 5. Gave himself some awkward situations when he took too long to deal with what should’ve been regulation clearances and didn’t enjoy himself while attempting to deal with Watkins. EPA

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  Scott Dann - 5. Beaten by a clever stepover from Watkins on the way to Villa’s opener and his lack of pace was targeted on more than one occasion as the hosts looked to isolate him on the break. AP

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  Patrick van Aanholt - 6. Spent large periods of the game in the opposition half and combined well with Eze on the left in the first half but couldn’t get into the game during a tough second period. PA

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  Luka Milivojevic - 6. Got a bit too much curl on his free kick from the edge of the box, allowing for an easy save for Martinez, before a deflecting, looping volley was well held by the Villa stopper. Booked for halting a Jack Grealish run in the second half and switched for Jairo Riedewald in the 69th minute. Reuters

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  James McArthur - 5. Had a tough afternoon courtesy of Villa’s quick transition from defence into attack and the midfielder failed to get to grips with the pace of the hosts. Replaced by Michy Batshuayi with 21 minutes left. PA

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  Jeffrey Schlupp - 5 . Would have fancied his chances against Villa left-back Matt Targett but failed to make an impression on the game and was kept quiet out wide. Replaced by Andros Townsend late on. EPA

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  Eberechi Eze - 6. You’re always on the edge of your seat when he picks up the ball but the former Queens Park Rangers man was sloppy when he looked to play a pass behind the Villa backline, while failing to seriously test the keeper despite several chances to shoot. The third Palace player to be booked for a foul on Grealish. Getty

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  Wilfried Zaha - 6. Got in behind in the opening minute and will be disappointed he couldn’t knock the ball either side of the onrushing Martinez. Reacted angrily to what he perceived as a deliberate kick in the back of the leg by Tyrone Mings and received a booking. Reuters

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  Christian Benteke - 5. Much of the Palace play was around the big Belgian rather than through him, and the former Villa striker looks a shadow of his former self. Reuters

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  SUBSTITUTES: Jairo Riedewald (Milivojevic, 69’) - N/A . Failed to inspire a late fightback. AP

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  Michy Batshuayi (McArthur, 75’) - N/A. Unable to dig out a late chance. EPA

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  Andros Townsend (Schlupp, 82’) - N/A. The game was already well over by the time the winger was introduced. Getty

Aston Villa played half the match with 10 men but still managed to thrash Crystal Palace 3-0 and move into the top six in the Premier League.

Bertrand Traore put Villa ahead early on but the hosts had Tyrone Mings dismissed shortly before the break after picking up a second yellow card.

It made little difference as they outplayed Palace in the second half with Kortney Hause heading in from close range in the 66th minute.

Anwar El Ghazi's finish 10 minutes later wrapped up the points for Villa.

Villa climbed to sixth in the standings with 25 points from 13 games while Palace stay in 13th place.

Striker Ollie Watkins did not manage to increase his season's Premier League tally from six but the 24-year-old was instrumental in Villa's win with assists for each goal.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.