QPR vs. Aston Villa: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
It wasn't pretty, but Queens Park Rangers picked up a vital win at home to Aston Villa on Monday, beating their guests 2-0 thanks to a Charlie Austin brace.
QPR were generally poor in possession and spent much of the first half giving the ball away in the centre of the park.
But they also got a goal before the half-time whistle when Bobby Zamora chested a long overhead ball into the path of Austin, who made no mistake from in close.
Villa, for all their possession, simply couldn't break through in the final third, although QPR goalkeeper Robert Green had more than a little to do with that.
Austin got his second in the 69th minute when he directed Eduardo Vargas' cross past Brad Guzan.
Monday's match included a few standout performances and a host of substandard ones, as will be examined in the following slideshow.
Here are the winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: Rob Green, Who Was Superb in Goal for QPR
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Territorially, Aston Villa were far superior to Queens Park Rangers on Monday, and while they struggled to create meaningful opportunities they were denied time and again by Rob Green on the rare occasion they mustered a shot on target.
The QPR goalkeeper made six saves at Loftus Road, including an important stop on Carlos Sanchez's volley that preceded Charlie Austin's opener just moments later.
Green also made a crucial late save on Tom Cleverley and did exceptionally well to also block the follow-up effort.
Loser: Rio Ferdinand, Who Wasn't Involved for the Hosts
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As the Press Association reported last week (via The Guardian), Rio Ferdinand is set to retire from professional football at the end of the season.
He may not play that much between now and then.
The former Manchester United defender and Champions League winner was an unused substitute on Monday, and given the solid performances of Richard Dunne and Steven Caulker he'll not easily regain his place.
Winner: Shot Blocking, Which Served QPR Well on Monday
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While Robert Green was heroic between the sticks for Queens Park Rangers on Monday, his defenders helped him earn the clean sheet by blocking much of what was shot in his direction.
Over the course of the 90 minutes QPR blocked five Aston Villa shots, many of which hit the aging body of Richard Dunne.
Although they played poorly for long stretches, the hosts often looked more desperate for the result than their guests.
Loser: Christian Benteke, Who Disappointed Once Again for Villa
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The hope was that the return of Christian Benteke would serve to end Aston Villa's goalless drought.
It has yet to happen.
Although the Belgium international is still recovering his match fitness following an extended injury layoff, he played the full 90 minutes on Monday and generally struggled to impose himself on the opposition defence.
At the very least he looked nothing like the player who took the Premier League by storm last season.
His embarrassing miss-hit in the final minutes pretty much summed up his night.
Winner: Charlie Austin, Who Scored Both QPR Goals
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Through nine matches, Charlie Austin has scored as many goals as Aston Villa.
Two of them came on Monday, when he scored in either half to help Queens Park Rangers to a vital three points.
On both occasions he required just a single touch to finish, first hammering the ball past Villa 'keeper Brad Guzan's following Bobby Zamora's knockdown and then turning Eduardo Vargas' cross from the right into the back of the net.
Austin, 25, also scored the winner against Sunderland in QPR's only other victory so far this term.
Loser: Carlos Sanchez, Whose Mistake Led to Austin's 2nd Goal
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Carlos Sanchez actually put in a decent shift on Monday.
No one from either side touched the ball as often as the 28-year-old, and over the 90 minutes he completed 88 percent of his passes while contributing five tackles.
But in the 69th minute his giveaway allowed Eduardo Vargas to streak downfield and set up Charlie Austin for Queens Park Rangers' second goal of the night.
Aston Villa had hung around until then but were well and truly beaten when the ball went into the back of the net following his error.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.
