John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery's side lose to Barcelona in the Champions League

Aston Villa suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season, losing 3-0 to Spanish giants Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Lamine Yamal punished a mistake from Joao Gomes early on, before Raphinha bagged a second half brace.

Both Unai Emery and Hansi Flick made two changes to their respective starting XIs, with the latter managing something of a defensive crisis in the absence of Jules Kounde, Andres Christensen, Eric Garcia and Xavi Espart, all of whom were sidelined through injury.

It was one of Emery’s changes, Gomes, who endured a nightmare start to the match, gifting Yamal the opportunity to open the scoring in the eighth minute after blindly playing the ball across his own box. The Barca teen sensation made no mistake, beating Zion Suzuki.

Villa responded well, with successive corners creating opportunities to restore parity almost immediately. Matty Cash drilled a strike towards the far post, which was deflected behind by Pedri, before Gomes was presented with a chance to atone for his error, only for his effort to be blocked.

Nicolas Jackson, who was searching for a fourth goal in as many Champions League appearances this season, beat Joao Cancelo down the right wing in the 18th minute and played the ball across for Johan Manzambi, but the Swiss international pulled his shot wide of the far post.

Moments later, Manzambi returned the favour, playing Jackson in behind. However, rather than taking a touch to get past Garcia, who had sprinted outside his box to engage him, the forward attempted to dribble past the goalkeeper, allowing him to make the tackle.

Down the other end, Suzuki made an important save to deny Anthony Gordon, but the opportunity again came as a result of Villa losing possession while playing out from the back. Before Pau Torres made an excellent tackle to halt Raphinha’s progress, Villa had once again breached Barca’s backline.

Buendia, after carrying the ball into the final third, found Manzambi on the left side of the box. Though, having been forced onto his weaker left foot, the Swiss international saw his effort comfortably saved by Garcia.

Villa did not deserve to be behind at the break, but their hopes of avoiding defeat at Camp Nou were dealt another blow when Raphinha doubled the hosts’ lead. The Brazilian collected the ball on the edge of the box from Fermin Lopez before seeing his strike beat Suzuki via a deflection off Pau Torres.

Raphinha then doubled his tally for the night just after the hour mark, with former Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo setting him up.

Villa will now turn their attention back to Premier League duties, with a trip to out-of-form Manchester United on Sunday coming before the November international break.

Player ratings

Zion Suzuki

Suzuki's passing was hit and miss tonight, with his first couple of longer balls towards Maatsen going out of play. He put Gomes under pressure with a shorter pass later in the first half, before denying Gordon inside the box. He prevented the former Newcastle winger from scoring after the break, but Villa were once again caught playing out from the back. 5

Matty Cash

Cash saw his effort, which was heading towards the far corner, deflected wide just moments after Villa fell behind. Competed well in his duels against Gordon. 6

Victor Lindelof

Lindelof made the first block of the game to prevent Gordon's strike inside the box from troubling Suzuki. 6

Pau Torres

Torres had lost seven of the eight games he had played at Camp Nou before tonight, and it was a tall order to improve that record this time around. He played well in the first half and made an excellent block on Raphinha after the Brazilian danced his way into the box. The Spaniard wasn't quite tight enough to the ex-Leeds forward before he scored via a deflection off Torres. 6

Ian Maatsen

Maatsen was harshly booked in the 11th minute and was walking a disciplinary tightrope from then on. Not an ideal situation when you're up against a player of Yamal's quality. 5

Boubacar Kamara

It was no easy task winning the midfield battle against the likes of Rodri, Pedri and Fermin Lopez. He lost possession as Barcelona searched for a fourth, although it was difficult to tell whether he had been fouled without a replay in the press box. 6

Joao Gomes

Gomes came in for Leon Goretzka this evening, partnering Kamara in the double pivot, but he started the game in nightmare fashion, playing the ball across his own box and allowing Yamal to intercept before beating Suzuki. He was also frustrated to see his strike inside the Barcelona box blocked just a couple of minutes after the opener. 4

John McGinn

McGinn used his body well against Cancelo and created the counter-attack which led to Villa's first shot on target, from Manzambi, in the 31st minute. A proud man captaining Villa on this stage. 6

Johan Manzambi

Manzambi occupied the number 10 role tonight, where he has been more effective than on the left. He was presented with a great chance to level the game in the 18th minute, but dragged his effort wide after being picked out by Jackson. His powerful left-footed drive inside the box later in the half was saved by Garcia. 6

Emi Buendia

Buendia returned to the starting XI tonight, replacing Alysson in attack. He went into the book in the 31st minute for fouling Lopez, before carrying the ball into the final third and picking out Manzambi, who got a shot on target. 5

Nicolas Jackson

Given Barcelona's defensive injuries, Jackson was always likely to get a chance or two tonight. He enjoyed running into space and causing problems, but should have done better when Manzambi played him through one-on-one with Garcia. A heavier touch would have allowed him to take the ball past the 'keeper and score into an empty net. He was booked late in the first half following an altercation with Cubarsi. 6

SUBS

Ross Barkley (for Manzambi, 62): Played in an attacking role after replacing Manzambi. 6

Ibrahim Mbaye (for Buendia, 62'): Gave Villa a new lease of life in attack after coming on. 6

Leon Goretzka (for Gomes, 62'): Flicked the ball on with his head from a corner, hitting the post. 6

Alysson (for McGinn, 77'): N/A

Tammy Abraham (for Jackson, 77'): N/A

Subs not used: Bizot, Wright, Harwood-Bellis, Mings, Garnacho, Hemmings.

GOALS

Barcelona: Yamal (8'), Raphinha (53', 65')

Aston Villa: N/A