That was much-needed for Aston Villa.
For far too long now, Villa have looked off-colour and they made matters worse by going eight games without a win, including producing some woeful performances.
Take your pick as to what was the worst – Villa’s 4-1 defeat away at Tottenham or the 3-0 loss at Chelsea.
Usually, Unai Emery has faired well in the capital against London clubs, but not this season!
Thankfully, on home soil, Aston Villa were back to their best when they beat Brentford 3-1, with a performance that was much better and deserving of a better scoreline.
Thomas Frank’s side scored with their only shot on target and are probably lucky that they weren’t hit for six because that’s what should have happened.
As you can imagine, the Villa Park faithful were pretty happy with this return to winning ways, but one player did frustrate the fans again on Wednesday night.
Jaden Philogene frustrates Aston Villa fans, Unai Emery and Emi Martinez
Sitting in the Holte-End, Jaden Philogene has been getting a little stick for his cameo appearances or sporadic starts this season, and the one against Brentford wasn’t any different.
Over the weekend, Philogene struggled against Chelsea and was understandably dropped for Leon Bailey for the visit of Brentford.
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I have said before that Villa fans need to be patient with Philogene and trust the process. Morgan Rogers is a prime example of how signing a player, who thrived in the Championship, does help and can work at this level.
Yes, when the 22-year-old came on against the Bees, he didn’t help matters because he gave away a foul, then just stood there whilst the opposition played a quick free-kick and his marker was ten yards off him.
Instantly, there were groans from the crowd, then Emery started verbally battering him and Emi Martinez did the same when he collected the cross, which he shouldn’t have allowed to come into the box.
The Villa Park groans didn’t stop there because the former Hull City man would then, with the ball on the flanks and on the halfway line, proceed to pass backwards, rather than forward.
It just now makes him an easy target, his confidence is on the floor, yes he needs to get his act together, but patience is needed here and judge him properly down the line.
Vitaly Janelt of Brentford is under pressure from Jaden Philogene-Bidace of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and ...
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Philogene’s stats for Villa this season
It doesn’t make for good reading, but this is where Emery works his magic and helps lift the game of a player he liked from the off.
Remember, Emery didn’t want the winger to leave Villa in the first place, before he shone in Hull City colours last season, and was then re-signed this summer.
WhoScored hasn’t been pleasant with his ratings, but hopefully, these can change in the coming months because the talent is there, that’s for sure.
Tournament Apps Mins Goals Assists KeyP Drb Yel Red SpG PS% Rating
League Cup 1 90 – – 2 3 – – 2 91.3 6.60
Champions League 1(2) 119 – – 0.3 0.3 – – 0.3 76.2 6.52
Premier League 2(8) 295 – – 0.1 0.3 2 1 0.6 77.4 5.89
Total / Average 14 504 0 0 0.3 0.5 2 1 0.6 78.1 6.07
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