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Aston Villa 2-4 Sociedad notebook: Player ratings as Hemmings and Madjo impress

· John Townley · 2026-07-28 · nguồn gốc

Aston Villa 2-4 Real Sociedad notebook: Player ratings as Hemmings and Madjo impress BirminghamLive brings you analysis from Aston Villa's pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad Aston Villa lost 4-2 to Real Sociedad in their third pre-season friendly before jetting out to the Far East to step up their preparations for the new campaign. George Hemmings opened the scoring in the 14th minute, curling a fine effort into the net. However, Villa's lead was short-lived, with Carlos Soler equalising shortly afterwards. Villa fell behind after the break, with Orri Óskarsson converting at the back post following a cruel deflection from a free-kick. Brian Madjo then bagged his third goal in two starts this pre-season, finishing from close range after some neat work from Emi Buendía. Sociedad retook the lead in the 66th minute, with substitute Gorka Carrera finishing past James Wright from inside the box. Villa's substitue goalkeeper then failed to keep hold of a cross late on, gifting Sociedad a fourth. Player ratings Marco Bizot Bizot came off his line well in the ninth minute to prevent Soler from racing through on goal. He was perhaps a little late off his line in the build-up to Sociedad's equaliser, although he did make the initial save before eventually being beaten. Matty Cash Cash looked lively down the right, delivering a couple of dangerous crosses and also taking aim himself in the 34th minute, but his effort drifted wide. Modou Cisse Cisse once again started in the heart of the defence alongside Tyrone Mings. He received a telling-off from Unai Emery after opting to play long instead of building from the back, but aside from that he impressed and won a crucial one-on-one duel against Oskarsson late in the first half. Tyrone Mings Mings was possibly caught in two minds over whether to engage or allow the ball to run through to Bizot before Sociedad's equaliser. He was colossal in the air when defending set-pieces. Ian Maatsen While Lucas Digne prepares to leave for PSG, Maatsen continues to enjoy a clear run at the left-back role as Villa's preparations for the new campaign gather pace. He had the first shot of the game, but Álex Remiro denied him from close range. João Gomes Gomes made a crucial block in the 20th minute, reading the situation well to get a foot in when it mattered. He also followed a runner down the right channel later in the first half to foil another attack. Got through 75 minutes of work today. Ross Barkley Barkley lost possession after 30 minutes, but Villa recovered well and got a block in to prevent the subsequent effort from troubling Bizot. He played better against Walsall, but still got valuable minutes in the legs with plenty of friendlies to play yet. Brad Burrowes The 18-year-old had mainly played through the middle in Villa's previous two pre-season games but started on the right wing on this occasion. He was kept on for the second half too. Emi Buendía Buendía returned to action after missing the trip to Porto. He operated as the No. 10 in the first half before moving out to the left after the break. Showed neat footwork to help Madjo make it 2-2. George Hemmings Hemmings took his goal superbly, sweeping the ball in off the far post. He used the ball effectively in transition and protected it well under pressure too. It was an excellent first-half display from the 19-year-old, who was replaced at the interval. Brian Madjo Madjo scored twice in his last pre-season start and impressed again this evening, getting himself on the scoresheet once more. He won a free-kick just outside the penalty area after being shoved over as he burst towards goal. Later in the first half, he earned a Sociedad defender a booking after turning him and leaving him with little option but to bring him down. After drawing another booking in the second half, Madjo tucked away Villa's second goal of the night. SUBS James Wright (for Bizot, HT): There was nothing Wright could do to prevent Sociedad's second goal, given the cruel deflection on the ball, but he made a big error for the fourth. Lamare Bogarde (for Cisse, HT): Bogarde played at centre-back for half of the second period, and then in midfield for the remainder of the game. Pau Torres (for Mings, HT): Torres produced silky passes and kept Sociedad pinned back with his progressive passing. Luka Lynch (for Hemmings, HT): Lynch initially came in off the right but then played down the middle following Broggio's introduction. Ben Broggio (for Madjo, 70'): N/A Kosta Nedeljkovic (for Cash, 70'): N/A TJ Carroll (for Barkley, 70'): N/A Triston Rowe (for Gomes, 75'): N/A Jamal Jimoh-Aloba (for Buendia, 75'): N/A Aidan Borland (for Maatsen, 75'): N/A George Hemmings earning the opportunity George Hemmings is certainly one to watch heading into the start of the season. Emery is clearly a huge admirer of the young talent, who has impressed throughout pre-season, scoring twice in three appearances after also finding the net in Villa's 5-0 win over Walsall. Hemmings started in the defeat to FC Porto and, although he didn't see as much of the ball as he had in the matches at the Bescot Stadium, he still used possession intelligently and caught the eye with another mature display. Of course, it was last summer that Hemmings first made a name for himself among Villa supporters, playing with swagger and confidence in a feisty pre-season encounter against Marseille. Since then, the youngster has continued his development in Premier League 2, while also training with the first team and making his first senior start in the Europa League against RB Salzburg. He also made two Premier League appearances against Arsenal and Everton, and who knows? If he continues to impress Emery, he could well earn a place in the first-team squad for the upcoming campaign. Villa certainly need greater depth, and based on these pre-season performances, Hemmings has looked sharper than some of his senior teammates. If his development continues on its current trajectory, he could save Villa a small fortune by emerging as a genuine first-team option. Even if his role is initially to provide greater depth in the final third, he has shown enough this summer to suggest he is capable of making the step up.