West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Aston Villa: Sam Allardyce's reign starts with defeat

Anwar El Ghazi has three goals from three trips to The Hawthorns, having scored twice in a 2-2 draw in the Championship in December 2018 — Anwar El Ghazi has four goals from three trips to The Hawthorns, having also scored twice in a 2-2 draw in the Championship in December 2018

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.

Reaction to West Brom v Aston Villa, plus the rest of Sunday's Premier League action

Big Sam's biggest challenge yet?

Sam Allardyce. — Sam Allardyce had won five of his seven previous opening games in charge of Premier League clubs

Much has been made of Allardyce's record of never suffering relegation from the Premier League as a manager but he will already be aware he has an uphill task to maintain that proud statistic.

While his new charges showed the sort of resilience that earned them a point at Manchester City in midweek in Slaven Bilic's final game in charge, they lacked the quality and potency to trouble Villa even before going down to 10 men.

Albion did not collapse after Livermore's ejection like they did following Matheus Pereira's red card in their last home game when Crystal Palace cruised to a 5-1 victory but, in truth, the scoreline could have been even more embarrassing than that.

John McGinn headed a Grealish cross wide, Ollie Watkins saw a sliding finish scrubbed off for offside by VAR and Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone twice superbly denied El Ghazi before the incessant pressure told late on.

With the January transfer window looming, Allardyce will need to bolster a defence that has conceded 29 goals - a tally only surpassed by Leeds - while reinvigorating an attack that has netted just five times in their past 11 games.

They failed to force Emiliano Martinez into a save of note as Allardyce suffered only a second opening-game defeat in a 20-year Premier League managerial career now spanning eight clubs.

The fixture list will not make pleasing reading for the former England manager, whose side face Liverpool, Wolves and Manchester City among their next six as they seek to add to their solitary win this term.

More to follow.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

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

Referee:: Martin Atkinson

Match Stats

Home TeamWest BromAway TeamAston Villa

Possession: Home33%; Away67%

Shots: Home1; Away19

Shots on Target: Home1; Away10

Corners: Home1; Away7

Fouls: Home14; Away8

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 3.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Aston Villa 3.

90'+4'
Post update
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
90'+3'
Post update
Attempt missed. Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Grealish.
90'+2'
Post update
John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'+2'
Post update
Foul by Conor Gallagher (West Bromwich Albion).
90'+1'
Post update
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Sam Johnstone.
90'
Post update
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.
88'
Post update
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.
86'
Post update
Penalty Aston Villa. Jack Grealish draws a foul in the penalty area.
86'
Post update
Penalty conceded by Semi Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion) after a foul in the penalty area.
86'
Post update
Attempt saved. Bertrand Traoré (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
84'
Goal!
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.
83'
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Callum Robinson replaces Karlan Grant.
82'
Post update
Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).
82'
Post update
Karlan Grant (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
78'
Post update
Offside, Aston Villa. John McGinn tries a through ball, but Jack Grealish is caught offside.
78'
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Branislav Ivanovic replaces Grady Diangana.
77'
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Charlie Austin replaces Matt Phillips.
77'
Post update
Foul by Matthew Cash (Aston Villa).

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Comments

Join the conversation

167 comments

A neutral but have to say I am pleased to see WBA lose after the shameful treatment of Slaven
Roy_of_the_Rovers replied:
Agreed, although feel sorry for the fans!
When you sack a manager like you did, then I'm afraid this is what you deserve.
Fan Of Whoever Plays Man Utd replied:
Don't worry WBA fans, your team is saving all their energy and goals for Liverpool.
33% possession and 1 shot. That is a Sam Allardyce team. West Brom fans are in for a rubbish few months.
No Deal Sadly Here We Come replied:
Someone remind me again why WBA brought in Big Sam?
Nothing against WBA but you got what you deserved for sacking Bilic after he got you promoted, and replacing him with Allardyce.
Big Sam is a yesterday man.
Shaker situ replied:
More the day before yesterday.
Very nice . Absolute Karma . What they did to Bilic was an absolute disgrace . And then they appointed a bribe taker and a fraudster . I really hope you go down with noise .
big bob joylove replied:
Well said.
Allardyce out! Bring Bilic back now
Always had a soft spot for WBA and their fans but after the way the club has treated Bilic I hope they go down. Football's answer to Hinge and Brackett on the touchline won't save them. They're like Steve Bruce..........dinosaurs.
phil replied:
shocking what they did to bilic -no improvement tonight after a great point at city
I've spoken to 3 Baggies fans over that last few days. They're livid that Bilic was sacked and incandescent that Allardyce was appointed. That won't have changed tonight.
Allardyce out !
Whatever the rivalry there was always a feeling West Brom were a likeable team. Seeing allardyce orchestrating a toothless assault on players like grealish was shameful. They won’t stay up with that tactic
Baggies looked nervous and relegation fodder
dinosaur is back -money for old rope
West Brom getting rid of Bilic as manager will come back up haunt them.
Big Sam Dyche may have a decent record of avoiding relegation but this one will prove a task too much.
Worrying times for the East Midlands club.
topo replied:
We’re just double checking this comment.
One tackle over the ball to take the player. Another tackle going for the ball but the ball got moved.

Intent. One to win the ball. The other to break leg. Livermore has history.
Match reporter missed a trick in his pre match interview. Should have handed Allardyce a brown envelope, winked and said 'thanks for the favour, this will see you Ok for pies for the next thirty years.' Worth getting sacked for. But know, we had to go through the Alladyce love in like he's some sort of genius manager. Villa basically thrashed them and the Baggies looked woeful, not looking good.
Anwar El Ghazi is Dutch, not Egyptian.
Bilic would've done better than Slick Sam, so would've the ball boy👻
going down with the dinosaur in charge bad move methinks
Brendan Batson, Adrian Chiles, Ricky Hill, Bryan “Poop” Robson, Jasper Carrot, Brian Stein, Luther Blissett, Bullring Shopping Centre...your boys took one helluva beating!!
brad replied:
The Bullring is in West Brom is it?

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	14	9	4	1	36	19	17	31
2	Leicester	14	9	0	5	26	17	9	27
3	Man Utd	13	8	2	3	28	21	7	26
4	Everton	14	8	2	4	25	19	6	26

5	Tottenham	14	7	4	3	25	14	11	25

6	Southampton	14	7	3	4	25	19	6	24
7	Man City	13	6	5	2	19	12	7	23
8	Chelsea	13	6	4	3	26	14	12	22
9	Aston Villa	12	7	1	4	24	13	11	22
10	West Ham	13	6	3	4	21	16	5	21
11	Wolves	13	6	2	5	13	17	-4	20
12	Newcastle	13	5	3	5	17	22	-5	18
13	Crystal Palace	14	5	3	6	19	25	-6	18
14	Leeds	14	5	2	7	24	30	-6	17
15	Arsenal	14	4	2	8	12	18	-6	14
16	Brighton	14	2	6	6	16	22	-6	12
17	Fulham	14	2	4	8	13	23	-10	10

18	Burnley	12	2	4	6	6	18	-12	10
19	West Brom	14	1	4	9	10	29	-19	7
20	Sheff Utd	14	0	2	12	8	25	-17	2

Big Sam's biggest challenge yet?

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