Sam Allardyce’s reign as West Bromwich Albion manager got off to a miserable start as Aston Villa brushed aside the 10-man Baggies.
Anwar El Ghazi’s improvised close-range finish gave Villa an early advantage in a West Midlands derby that was one-sided even before Baggies captain Jake Livermore’s red card.
The visitors were utterly dominant once Martin Atkinson consulted his pitchside monitor and decided to dismiss Livermore for a studs-up lunge on Jack Grealish before half-time.
They sealed the points with two goals in the closing stages as Grealish set up Bertrand Traore’s cool side-footer and then won the penalty converted by El Ghazi for the Egyptian’s second.
Albion might be aggrieved that the VAR did not request Atkinson take a second look when Kortney Hause trod on the ankle of Baggies midfielder Grady Diangana shortly after Livermore’s sending-off.
But it was still a night to forget for Allardyce, whose side remain three points from safety in 19th, as he returned to a Premier League dugout for the first time since May 2018.
More to follow.
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West Bromwich Albion
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Squad number1Player nameJohnstone
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Squad number2Player nameFurlong
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Squad number6Player nameAjayi
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Squad number27Player nameO’Shea
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Squad number3Player nameGibbs
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Squad number19Player nameSawyers
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Squad number10Player namePhillips
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Squad number8Player nameLivermore
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Squad number18Player nameGallagher
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Squad number11Player nameDiangana
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Squad number29Player nameGrant
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Squad number7Player nameRobinson
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Squad number15Player nameAustin
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Squad number20Player nameIvanovic
Aston Villa
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Squad number26Player nameMartínez
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Squad number2Player nameCash
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Squad number30Player nameHause
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Squad number5Player nameMings
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Squad number18Player nameTargett
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Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
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Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
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Squad number15Player nameTraoré
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Squad number10Player nameGrealish
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Squad number21Player nameEl Ghazi
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Squad number11Player nameWatkins
No players have been substituted yet
Line-ups
West Brom
- 1Johnstone
- 2Furlong
- 6Ajayi
- 27O’Shea
- 3Gibbs
- 19Sawyers
- 10PhillipsSubstituted forAustinat 77′minutes
- 8LivermoreBooked at 36mins
- 18Gallagher
- 11DianganaSubstituted forIvanovicat 78′minutes
- 29GrantBooked at 62minsSubstituted forRobinsonat 83′minutes
Substitutes
- 7Robinson
- 13Grosicki
- 15Austin
- 17Krovinovic
- 20Ivanovic
- 21Edwards
- 22Peltier
- 24Kipré
- 25Button
Aston Villa
- 26Martínez
- 2Cash
- 30HauseBooked at 40mins
- 5MingsBooked at 66mins
- 18Targett
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 7McGinn
- 15Traoré
- 10Grealish
- 21El Ghazi
- 11Watkins
Substitutes
- 3Taylor
- 12Steer
- 14Hourihane
- 19Nakamba
- 22Engels
- 24Guilbert
- 27El Mohamady
- 39Davis
- 41Ramsey
Live Text
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Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 3.
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Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 3.
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Attempt missed. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
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Attempt missed. Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
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John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Conor Gallagher (West Bromwich Albion).
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Sam Johnstone.
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Attempt saved. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
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Goal! West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 3. Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal.
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Penalty Aston Villa. Jack Grealish draws a foul in the penalty area.
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Penalty conceded by Semi Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion) after a foul in the penalty area.
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Attempt saved. Bertrand Traoré (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Goal! West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 2. Bertrand Traoré (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jack Grealish following a fast break.
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Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Callum Robinson replaces Karlan Grant.
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Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).
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Karlan Grant (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Offside, Aston Villa. John McGinn tries a through ball, but Jack Grealish is caught offside.
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Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Branislav Ivanovic replaces Grady Diangana.
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Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Charlie Austin replaces Matt Phillips.
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Foul by Matthew Cash (Aston Villa).
