Latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as midfielder delivers verdict on first defeat of the season
Youri Tielemans during the defeat by Brentford.
Youri Tielemans during the defeat by Brentford.
Youri Tielemans urged his Aston Villa team-mates to forget the highs of last season as their slow start to the campaign continued with defeat at Brentford.
Unai Emery's side are still awaiting their first goal of the season after going down 1-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium to a first-half strike from Bees debutant Dango Ouattara.
There was a noticeable absence of firepower in west London with Villa managing only two shots on target, and their struggles are a far cry from the performances that saw them to fourth and sixth-placed finishes in the last two seasons.
"Last season is gone," Tielemans told the Villa club website. "It's up to us to do better, to improve as a team and just get wins in.
"We have to learn, improve and hopefully get a week of good work and get a win next week.
"We know we can do better and we just didn't do that.
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"I think we're going to have to analyse the game and see what was missing, but it's true that some moments we were playing a bit too slow and could've done some better actions."
The closest Villa came to scoring was in the first half when John McGinn shot through a crowd of defenders and drew a smart save from the foot of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
After the break, Emiliano Buendia twice fired off target while Morgan Rodgers was denied by a lunging block from summer-signing Michael Kayode.
"Just the last pass or the last shot was missing," said Tielemans. "They defended well as well, so credit to them for their good defending, and it's up to us to do better next time."
Villa's scoreless run now stands at three Premier League matches stretching back to the end of last season when they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United on the final day to miss out on the Champions League.
Claret & Blue verdict
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